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Why does the first attack from Tourne cause the target to provoke AoOs? Vicious Stomp only works if they fall prone. A trip attack with the Seven Branched Sword makes them flat footed instead of falling prone. It comes from Greater Trip. The successful trip check renders the poor schmuck flatfooted instead of prone, but it is still a successful trip check.
Or you could have sentient flesh golems with ranks in the Martial Artist monk archetype and use Exploit Weakness. Now that would be some fight.
I've tripped and just flailed around a bit before walking away like nothing happened.
A cultural guide/art book would be a pretty sweet addition to my Pathfinder shelf. It could even cover some of the dead civilizations too, so we know what that magic gear might look like when we find it in an old Thassilonian ruin or Osirian tomb.
The Gray Maiden is just fantastic.
Sole 27, 1007 A3 The heroes fending off an attack from a trio of giant wasps. Otherwise, it was a quiet day. Sole 28, 1007 A3 The ship traveled through a narrow part of the White River. The trees loomed large over the water, their boughs forming a tunnel for the paddle boat to travel through. The guards and heroes failed to see a rope bridge built among the branches until it was too late. Glass bottles shattered upon the foredeck and the boat burst into flames. Jared also burst into flames and dove into the river. As panic ensued at the front of the boat, several goblins to the deck around and on the wheelhouse. This happened to leave Taliesin in a tight spot, since he had been the only one hanging back there. the bard struck with a sound burst and his friends quickly came to is aid. Meanwhile the guards worked at putting out the ship. Jared swam over to one of the paddle wheels and attempted to grab on and ride it up. He eventually succeeded, and fired off some magic missiles once he reached the top. He did this a couple of times during the course of the battle, but eventually lost his grip and fell back into the river. As the guards were dealing with the fire and the heroes were dealing with the goblins, the bandit leader, his lieutenant, and a few more bandits dropped to the ship mid-deck. Battle raged, and two guardsmen lost their lives. The ballista was also lost. The heroes did manage to find lost of useful items on the bandits and even one of the goblins. Perhaps the most interesting of the pieces was a magical dagger with a raven motif. Taliesin identified it as a magical returning dagger, but they couldn't seem to get it to work. Tyr tried again to use the dagger that night and it finally worked.
Sole 24, 1007 A3 The party decides to take on Bergermeister Harken's quest. Josie want to stay in Oak Grove working the Gargaul dig. The others prepare to set out, deciding to travel north back to Barona and cut across there heading west, where vast, dangerous wilderness awaits them as they seek out these mysterious ruins. Sole 25, 1007 A3 The party sets out traveling north up the White River on a paper boat (a paddle boat taking pallets of paper from the Bravo mill up river where it will be transferred to a caravan that will deliver the paper to Oxford). The boat was also carrying a load of books from the Gargaul ruins. They met a cleric of Halen named Xavier. Halen, known as the Pale Guardsman, is the God of the Afterlife. Xavier offered up his aid on their quest and joined the party. Sole 26, 1007 A3 The river boat was attacked by bandits. They fired arrows with ropes tied to them into the paddlewheels so that the ropes would potentially seize them up unless the ship stopped (which it did). The attack came from both sides. The party and other guards on the ship mostly fired arrow at either shore while the bandits did the same. An ogre on one show was hurling spears onto the deck of the ship to terrible effect, nearly dropping Xavier twice. Nordak used the Demon Frog Tongue to get at the ogre. An enlarged Xavier eventually made his way over there without drowning to help. They cleared that side. Several of the bandits on the other side were killed. The bandit leader and his lieutenant retreated.
I once ran an all-wizard campaign where all of the PCs graduated from the same academy. An old classmate contacted each of them so that they would take on a seemingly minor quest for his lord.
I just started a group on Burnt Offerings, and I found that the cleric seemed to have just enough healing ability.
Sole 9th, 1007 A3 (continued) As the adventurers descended the stairs, they quickly found themselves in a dark basement. A wall running straight away from the stairs divided the basement area into two halves. The heroes veered right. They passed an old well and arrived at an open doorway. North saw what appeared to be glowing eyes at the far end of the room beyond the doorway. He then charged at it with reckless abandon. The others followed him in, and they quickly found themselves surrounded. Two zombies moved in from the sides of the doorway. Two skeletons moved in from either side of an altar near the far end of the room. A man with green, rotten skin dressed in a tattered captain’s uniform stepped out from behind the altar. The undead captain called out, “Get’em lads!” North took down the ghoulish captain quickly with his great axe. The others had more trouble with the skeletons and zombies. Rugan, after a couple of attempts, was able to turn them. The undead retreated toward the stairs the heroes came down and around to the other side of the basement. The party gave chase, found some more undead in addition to what they had, and destroyed them all. Afterward, the heroes returned to the altar room. The spirit of Fulcairn rose from his corpse and gave thanks that his soul was set free. When asked about the spell coin press, Capt. Fulcairn said all they found were pieces, which they brought back on the ship, even though several of the crew that the items were cursed. With that, he disappeared. Ambrose checked behind the altar to find a treasure chest. Within the chest were a +1 cutlass, a mithral chain shirt, a few art pieces and jewelry, and about 1000 gold coins. After searching the rest of the ruins and hauling their finds to the ship, the adventurers returned to the Double Eel. North dove into the hold and swam the length of the ship looking for the spell coin press pieces. He found a box at the far end of the ship and brought it back. Three artifacts that could have possibly been part of one of those ancient machines were inside the box. With their quest complete, everyone returned to the ship and the ship set sail for Port Leaven.
Sole 9th, 1007 A3 (continued) The party, along with some crewmen, rowed a longboat to the island. North, Hyarion, Ambrose, and Rugan went over to the ship to examine it. After making their way onto the deck, the heroes lifted the hatch leading below deck. The ship’s hold was flooded, leaving about one foot of air at the top. Next, they went to the captain’s cabin. The place had been mostly cleaned out of anything useful. The ship had likely been abandoned by any survivors after it came to rest there. The heroes did come across a journal written in Kellsh. Rugan read the last few entries. From what he could gather, Capt. Fulcairn had died by the time the ship arrived at the island. The crew gathered him up with his possessions and anything else that might be useful and headed inland. There was no mention of the spellcoin press in those entries. It was decided that the adventurers would seek out a likely path and head inland looking for more clues. It wasn’t long before the discovered some old ruins. Most of the walls had either been knocked down or tumbled down over time. It was decided that they would go examine the ruins closer. As the heroes poked around the front of the ruins, Ambrose slipped off to the side, seeing what he could find. Suddenly a skeleton stood up and came after him. He shouted and tried to stab the skeleton with a dagger. The blade found its way right between two ribs, which had no effect on the undead monster. North charged over to Ambrose to help him. Hyarion and Rugan followed after at a much slower pace. While North engaged the skeleton, Ambrose made his escape. Unfortunately, by the time he made it around to Hyarion and Rugan, they were battling five more skeletons. The heroes fought hard and one the fight. After searching amongst the rubble, they found stairs leading down into a basement. It was decided that they would descend the steps and hopefully find clues to the whereabouts of Fulcairn and the spellcoin press.
Sole 22, 1007 A3 The heroes arrived at the Gargaul Ruins late in the morning. After tying up their horses, the adventurers headed north in search of any clues of the dragon’s whereabouts, if there was actually a dragon. A league and a half north of the ruins, a cluster of hills were discovered in a clearing. One of the hilltops appeared to be scorched. The heroes climbed the hill to get a better look. Once at the top, they were pretty certain that the grass had been singed by something. Then Tyr and Nordak noticed a huge hole in an opposite hillside. It appeared to be a cave of some sort. Then they saw movement. A huge giant wasp emerged from the cave. Instead of the more common yellow-brown coloration, the monster’s chitinous hide was a dark red. The beast took to the air, flying up to the hilltop where the heroes stood. Its arm-sized stinger struck Nordak, but he shook off the poison. Tyr tried to get into position behind the wasp by tumbling beneath it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough and got stung. As the poison took hold, Tyr felt less coordinated as he tried to prepare for an attack. Jared’s mind raced back to his schooling at Berkhardt. He recalled that some monsters that wield fire are more susceptible to cold attacks. He unleashed a lesser orb of cold against the wasp, and it seemed to be especially effective. The huge fire wasp bathed Nordak and Josie in flames, but they kept fighting. Josie scored a mighty blow against its abdomen, leaving a large gash. The others fought hard and it wasn’t long before the monster was overwhelmed and killed. After the battle, the heroes decided to search the cave, hoping to find treasure, or at least signs that the fire wasp killed the missing people. They found four bodies in the back of the cave. Two of them appeared to be missing workers. The other two looked to be adventurers. One was a fighter. His armor had been torn to shreds, but there were still other magical items about his corpse. The most noteworthy of the items was a magic battleaxe that burned like a torch whenever picked up. They also got some Gauntlets of Ogre Strength, a magic shield, and a magic cloak. The other body was a coin caster. Jared recognized the signet ring on the coin caster as belonging to one of the students he went to school with, a young man named Altone, whose family lives in Port Leaven. Jared was able to get a lot of coins off of him, though some were doubles. The coin staff was broken and two of the slots were empty. After a thorough search of the cave, Jared went back outside and searched the fire wasp with detect magic. He saw something in the gut of the monster. They found two coins: enlarge person and fireball. As they were about to leave, a pair of regular giant wasps attacked the party. Once these were dealt with, the reclaimed their horses and started back home. Sole 23, 1007 A3 On the way back, the heroes had to deal with a pack of eight wolves. They were completely surrounded but were able to handle the situation without serious injuries to any of the heroes. Tyr’s horse was badly wounded though. After this, the heroes were able to reach Oak Grove without further incident.
I view priests as something for NPCs. There are tons of followers of a particular diety who administer to the laypeople, conduct services, and perform religious rites, but weren't blessed with the power or given the training to handle the more dangerous challenges that clerics face. Maybe they can work some divine magic, perform healings and such, but it is the clerics that were trained to battle the major threats. That includes training with certain weapons and armor. Maybe tweak Adept to create a Priest NPC class, but I don't see the need for a Priest PC class or to make clerics more like priests.
For anyone who is interested, I've finally started up the Spellcoin: Seeking Arcana journal (though the title is showing as spellcoinSeekingArcana for some reason). I'll be working on getting it caught up, so keep an eye on it.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 North Arnbjornsen, a Northman barbarian, and Gimble, a gnomish cleric of Forsetti, awoke in the Port Leaven Hospital. They had picked up a case of filth fever while battling some dire rats. Now recovered, they find amongst their stuff, two Adventurer’s Guild badges. Considering that they’ve been laid up in the hospital a couple of days, they figure the others already headed out for Oak Grove. Not having decided whether or not to go after them, the two decided to head over to the Guildhouse and just see what happens. While there, they meet a human rogue named Ambrose Soulaxe and a grey elf coin caster named Hyarion. While they were chatting in the common area at the Guildhouse, they overheard a cleric talking to the guild clerk on duty. Dropping some eaves, they find out that he is a cleric of Zolvin, the god of knowledge, and his order has need of some heroes to go on a mission. Ambrose was sent over to get the cleric and the five people talked. The cleric introduced himself as Rugan, and explained that his order needed heroes to travel by ship and retrieve a lost item. The journey would likely take two weeks there and back. If they wanted to go, then they could meet at the temple of Zolvin for further details. North wanted to compete in the World’s Strongest Man competition in three weeks. He figured this would be a great chance to train/adventure and he would get back in time to travel to Gamble for the competition. The other three decided the quest was intriguing and would go. On the way to the temple, a messenger found the heroes with a message that Gimble was needed by his order for a special mission. Gimble apologized to the others and told them he might catch them when they returned from their journey. North, Hyarion, and Ambrose carried on to the temple of Zolvin. There they were briefed on the mission. Merchants reported that they think they spotted the wreckage of a ship called The Double Eel. This ship was captained by the pirate/adventurer Ian Fulcairn. The Double Eel’s last voyage was in 927 A3, when Captain Fulcairn set out searching for a coin press that he believed he knew the location to and might still be intact. He was never seen again. The priests of Zolvin wanted the heroes to travel to the island where the ship was spotted and confirm that it is in fact The Double Eel and discover the captain’s fate. The heroes accepted and Rugan told them to meet him at the docks in the morning. Sole 3rd, 1007 A3 Early in the morning, the heroes meet with Rugan at the docks. The cleric led the others to the ship Seeker’s Star. There they met Captain Markos Percello, who informed the group that they wouldn’t just be passengers. They had to work for their spots on the ship. The adventurers were shown around the ship, and then shown to their duties. Sole 3rd, 1007 A3 - Sole 8th, 1007 A3 The work was tough for some, but the heroes made due. There were no major incidences on the voyage. Sole 9th, 1007 A3 Early in the morning, Seeker’s Star sailed within sight of the island where The Double Eel was supposedly spotted. As they drew near, the ship moved toward the northwest part of the island. The broken hull of an aged ship sat partially submerged off the beach. Just above the water, two wooden eels stared back at Seeker’s Star.
Sole 20, 1007 A3 On the next morning, the heroes gathered together and went down to the common room for some breakfast. Eberhard Beltz, the innkeeper, gave them a letter and a package that arrived for them early that morning. The letter was from Emil Harkan. He thanked them again and asked them to stop by at their earliest convenience to discuss another business proposal. The package was from Jared. A small clay token and a note were inside. The token was marked with the symbol of Vanadil, god of travel, and some runes. The note stated that Jared needed Tyr and Taliesin to return as soon as possible. There had been some trouble with the excavation at the ruins west of Oak Grove. Some workers claimed to have seen a dragon. Then a couple workers turned up missing. Evidence indicated that they didn’t just walk off and get lost. The token was to teleport them back to Oak Grove. Jared explained how it worked and cautioned them, stating that the token wasn’t cheap, so they better get it right the first time. After looking through their mail, the party walked over to Astor Metz, who just so happened to be eating breakfast in the common room of the Black Boar. They told him that they needed to talk to the Burgermiester briefly and would return there to go hunting undead with him. The meeting with Emil Harkan was indeed brief. There was an artifact that he wanted to get his hands on and he believed that he knew where it could be found. He wasn’t in a position to retrieve it himself, but was willing to pay the heroes very well for it. He gave them a copy of a map showing where he thought the ruins would be found. He also gave them a note detailing the artifact. Then he gave them a token that they could use to indicate to him that they would accept the mission and were setting out to do so. Harkan told them to think about it, and to enlist some aid if they were to be successful. The heroes rejoined Astor and they set out for the tower. As they neared the old tower, the adventurers came upon a couple of ghouls they called for re-enforcements, but died before help arrived. The second wave consisted of two ghouls and two ghasts. The ghouls weren’t too much trouble, but the ghasts managed to paralyze Dagerkin and Tyr. Paralyzed and badly wounded, they were abandoned while the undead sought out Astor and Tal. End the end, the heroes stood victorious. Astor collected the heads to take back with him as proof for his commander. Dagerkin bid farewell to Tyr and Tal. He had decided to stay in Barona to search for his long lost half-brother. Tyr and Tal wished him luck and teleported themselves back to Oak Grove. Once there, Tyr and Tal met up with Jared and Josie at the Bravo house and they had a lunch that couldn’t be beat, while catching up on all the goings on. Jared had been training with Misty, the pseudodragon, and she was a bit tougher now. He had also found some more spell coins at the ruins. Later, Jared introduced everyone to Nordak, a barbarian that he had been hanging out with all week. Nordak worked as a guard for the archaeologists working the Gargaul Complex. He was going to go with them on the dragon hunt. Everyone spent the rest of the day at the Green Oak Inn. Sole 21, 1007 A3 On a warm summer day, Jared and Josie Bravo, Misty, Taliesin, Tyr Blackwynd, and Nordak set out for the ruins so they could hunt themselves a dragon. The first half of the day was uneventful. About mid-afternoon, they came across an owlbear. The heroes quickly dispatched the beast before it could dispatch any of them. Early in the evening, the adventurers came across a small hunting pack of wolves, six strong. This fight took a bit more, but the heroes one the day. Their spirits were high. But if there really is a dragon lurking out there, could they handle it?
I'll throw my vote in for simplified cover, not that it looks like it needs it. There seems to be major consensus here. I tend to use a battlemat, and we just eyeball it and more or less make something up, so we would never use complex, time-consuming cover rules.
I think the deathless ability is appropriate whether the character is good or evil. Working with negative energy for that long is likely to have side effects, regardless of how you decide to use it.
Sole 19, 1007 A3 (continued) At the bottom of the stairs, they heroes found themselves in a narrow, earthen tunnel. The darkness seemed to cling to everything. The tunnel led to a small room with a door. There was a set of pegs for coats and such by the door. Tyr opened the door and the party proceeded. A narrow, dark hall stretched out before them. The end of the hallway couldn’t be seen from the door. Not far away from the adventurers were two doors, one on each side of the hall and facing each other. The party decided to try the door on the left, but as they were about to open it, the heroes heard a loud thump beyond the other door. The noise was followed by a low growling. The party about-faced and opened the other door to investigate the noise. The found a small room with three doors. Each door had a small, barred window. Looking through the windows revealed the rooms to be small cells. In the third cell, a ghoul was trying to bash his way out. Tyr unlocked the door so Dagerkin could make it dead. Then the party returned to the long hall. Going through the door on the left, the heroes found themselves in a torture chamber. Two tables, covered in straps, sat in the middle of the room, and one wall was covered in racks of torture and dissection tools. As everyone looked around, the adventurers suddenly felt the temperature drop in the room. Two human shaped shadows appeared in the room. They started to attack, and Tyr took the worst of it. Eventually, his body weakened, Tyr Blackwynd collapsed and died. During the battle, Taliesin’s mind was working overtime. He figured that if the torture experienced by those that died there is what kept the shadows there, then perhaps the destruction of the torture tools would put the spirits to rest. Two sound bursts later, the battle was over. Dagerkin was weakened, and Tyr was dead. Tal and Dag collected the body of their friend and left the room. Tal and Dag discovered that the hall extended more that 100 ft before coming to some stairs up and doors leading out. They decided to exit the tower hear and head back to Randuhr. As they neared the tower, the heroes spotted what looked to be the bandits waiting at the front gate. The bandits had all been turned to ghouls and ghasts. It was decided that it would be best to skirt them. The got away safely and arrived back at Randuhr late in the day. Tal decided to get the ivory box out and bury it before talking to Emil Harkan. As he looked at the box, the bard thought he saw skulls hidden in the petals of the rose carvings. He wasn’t sure, but felt uneasy. The box was buried, and Tyr was stashed away to somewhere safe. Tal then went to Harkan and told him of the happenings within Harkan Tower. He then made a deal, the ivory box for the returning of Tyr Blackwynd to life. It was agreed, and everyone met up at the temple of Horace. Tal couldn’t stand the place, so he left as soon as he could. Soon Tyr was back, and they spent some money getting Dagerkin restored. They sought out and found Astor Metz. Or did he find them? Either way, they discussed the events of Harkan tower. He asked if they would go with him in the morning to hunt down those ghouls, and they agreed. He also offered up the assistance he promised. Tal told him they were looking for a man named Schwarzer Eber. Astor confirmed Taliesin’s fears. Schwarzer Eber was the local tavern/inn. Someone must have been trying to be cautious and signed the meeting place as their name, knowing the recipient would understand. He said he would keep an eye and ear open for anything suspicious though. He bid them good evening and that he would see them in the morning. And now it would seem that their lead had hit a dead end.
Sole 19, 1007 A3 (continued) Tyr Blackwynd, Taliesin, and Dagerkin Soulaxe made their way up the stairs to the 4th floor. As they reached the top of the stairs, all three of the heroes felt a sudden feeling of doom come over them, casting a shadow into their minds. Despite this, they continued forward. They found themselves in a hallway with one door on the left, two doors on the right, and a fourth door at the end of the hall. The hall continued to the left at that point. Tyr tried the first door on the right. They found a large bedroom, devoid of anything interesting. Then they tried the door on the left. It appeared to be a large children’s room. There were a pair of bunk beds to the left and some small desks and chairs to the right. The far side of the room had a closet, dresser, and chest. Tyr and Dagerkin stepped into the room. Tyr noticed a dark stain on the floor. When he went to investigate it, he had a strange feeling, like dark amusement. He almost thought he would laugh aloud, but he shook the feeling and cleared his head some. Looking back at the stain, Tyr was pretty sure it was an old blood stain. He moved on to examine the far side of the room. Dagerkin checked out the desks and then the beds. When he passed by the stain, he had a strange feeling too, but it passed and he moved on. Tyr found that the chest was a toy box, and rotted clothes were in the dresser. He then opened the closet to find some larger toys. Working his way deeper into the closet, the rogue found a small pile of dust with some bone fragments in it. He decided it was time to get out of the room. The heroes returned to the hall and checked the second door on the right. It was a large bedroom with nothing interesting inside. They moved on to the final door in the hall. To the left, they could see that the hall continued to a collapsed stairway that probably led to the roof. With just the one door left, Tyr opened it and the party entered. The party found itself in the master bedroom. There were two doors on the left side of the room. On there right was another door and a large picture window with chairs nearby. Curtains were drawn across all the windows in the room. Tyr moved over to a window and pulled aside the curtain. The glass was covered in a film that wouldn’t come off, and the windows weren’t designed to open. Next, Tyr moved over to the picture window. As he reached for the curtain, the rogue felt the temperature around him suddenly drop. A gray-black mist coalesced in front of him. Insane mutterings could be heard throughout the room, which left Dagerkin in a trance. While Tal used a countersong to bring Dagerkin back around, Tyr struck impotently at the allip that now floated threateningly before him. It reached out and touched Tyr, and he felt his sanity slip for a moment and clouding his mind. He pulled back while Dagerkin charged in and scored a hit. The allip touched Dagerkin to some effect before drifting into the floor. Everyone scattered when the allip went out of sight. Tyr decided to smash a window in hopes that light would aid them. After the allip rose again, Dagerkin smashed the picture window and the allip came after him. Dagerkin switched in his coin of disrupt undead into his sword and started swinging away. It wasn’t long before the allip dispersed. Once things had calmed down, the adventurers searched the room. They found a few interesting bits, including a socketed amulet with a coin of owl’s wisdom in it and some goggles of minute seeing. Hidden behind a panel over at the picture window, the party found an ivory box that they recognized to be the lost heirloom. It was covered in carvings of roses and gave anyone looking at it an uneasy feeling. It got packed away and the party decided to move on. The heroes decided to clear some of the rubble and make their way to the roof. Searching the roof of the tower revealed nothing, though Tal did notice that the sun was high in the western sky. That meant it was early afternoon, but he was sure they hadn’t been in there that long. With nothing else they could do, the party decided to check the 1st floor for any way to get to a basement or cellar. They wanted to be thorough. When they reached the 2nd floor, the heroes could faintly hear the scream of a woman. Dagerkin rushed ahead, with Tyr and Tal following behind. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they didn’t find anyone there. Dagerkin started checking the smaller rooms while Tal and Tyr set off to search under the rugs in the parlor for a trap door. Then they heard piano music. An examination of the piano didn’t reveal anything, though Tyr got a strange feeling when he accidentally hit some of the keys. Back to searching the rugs, Tal found a door hidden beneath the rug on the east side of the room. The heroes gathered up at the door. It was flung open and the trio stared down into the darkness. One by one they descended, not knowing what might await them.
Sole 19, 1007 A3 The next day, the heroes rose early and made their way to Harkan Tower. They decided to leave their horses in town because it was only about an hour walk. Giftholz was very dark at dusk, and as the morning carried on, the thick canopy continued to block much of the sunlight, even along the wagon trail. Soon, the adventurers neared Harkan Tower. Before they reached it, they came across the ruins of a small building long burned down. Tyr managed to find a piece of a sign. Dagerkin pieced together that it likely told visitors that it was a place of healing (which makes sense considering that Aduf Harkan was a doctor). They continued on, approaching the tower cautiously. If the bandits really were hiding out there, the party didn’t want to give themselves away too soon. Dagerkin made sure his sword was ready, Tyr checked his daggers and short swords, and Tal checked his socketed bow with a coin of True Strike (the coin was purchased at the Moon and Stars). The tower appeared to be four stories tall with a square base. The first two floors didn’t have any windows, and narrow windows ringed the third floor. The tower had been used as a military post before it had been gifted to Dr. Harkan by the Baronan government. On the forth floor, there appeared to be a picture window on the side of the tower, along with some other windows that stood out. They were likely added after Dr. Harkan moved in. Tal contemplated using the Demon Frog Tongue to zip up to the picture window and bust in. The heroes eventually decided to try the front door. They were able to get in. As they made their way down the hallway leading inside, the heroes noticed that the dust on the floor appeared to be disturbed as if people had been moving around recently. Then a sound like groaning door hinges came from behind them. The party turned to discover that is exactly what they heard and now the doors leading outside were closed. Dagerkin checked the door and was able to open it, so the heroes carried on. They exited the hallway into what appeared to be a party room. Against the far wall directly across from the hallway was an aged, decayed piano. There were two fireplaces spaced out to the right of the piano, and two more fireplaces to the piano’s left. In front of each set of fireplaces was a large area rug with couches, tables, and chairs on them. A brass chandelier hung over the center of the room. Stairs leading up flanked the room on the left and right, and there were doors facing back the way they came. The adventurers checked behind those two doors. The first door led to a cluster of three rooms. They appeared to be servants’ quarters. Dagerkin found a lockbox beneath the bed in one room. At the same time, Tyr and Tal were in another room. They heard scratching noises beneath the bed. Tal convinces Tyr to jump on the bed to scare out whatever was down there. The bed collapsed under his weight, age having taken its toll on the wooden frame. Once the debris was cleared, Tyr found another lockbox. He also found scratch marks in the stone floor that appeared to come from something under the bed. The heroes checked behind the second door off the main room. They found a cluster of four smaller servants’ quarters, but nothing inside. When they stepped back into the main room, the heroes could here faint piano music playing. Dagerkin walked over to the piano and examined it. The instrument was warped from age and covered in dust. He opened the top to look inside, but didn’t really know what to look for. Tal called him away before he could examine it anymore. The party headed to the second floor. On the second floor, the party found themselves in a long hallway with doors on either side. The stairs they came up continued up to the third floor and at the end of the hallway was a set of stairs going down and up. The group started with the first door on their left. It opened into a dining room. Two long tables dominated the room; plates and silverware were set before each chair. There was a door that led off to the side. Dagerkin stepped between the tables while Tyr moved toward the door. Suddenly, six plates flung themselves off of the table at them. So far, Taliesin wasn’t convinced that there was any evidence of a haunting. Anything they had experienced could be replicated with magic. The heroes moved on, finding a kitchen, pantry, and storage room. Then the heroes crossed the hallway. They found a couple of coffee rooms. Then they found the library. Tal couldn’t get in fast enough. Once everyone was in the room and spread out, three books flew off the shelves and attacked. They weren’t had to defeat, but Tal wept at their destruction. After a little loitering in the library, the heroes proceeded to the third floor. The hallway on the third floor formed a square around a central room, with additional rooms along the north and south walls. The stairs don’t continue up on the east side of the tower, but they do on the west side. They checked the center room first, but it was completely empty. There were no clues as to what its use had been. Next was the northwestern room. It appeared to be a gallery. Paintings hung on the walls, and there were also some suits of armor. A picture right across from the door caught Tal’s eye. While he went to examine it, Dagerkin looked over the armor and Tyr started checking behind all of the paintings. Tal wiped some dust from a nameplate to discover that the painting was of Dr. Aduf Harkan. As the bard continued to examine the portrait, the image of the doctor aged rapidly. Then it leapt from the painting and started to strangle Tal. A choking cry drew Tyr’s attention. He turned to see Tal, with a frightened expression, choking himself. Tyr and Dagerkin tried to grab hold of Tal, but before they could, the elf came to his senses. The apparition vanished and Tal was surprised to find his own hands at his throat. This one wasn’t as easily explained way with simple spells. After they finished searching the gallery, the heroes moved to the room on the northeast side of the tower. This was an exercise room. There were pads on the floor and a practice dummy in the corner. There was also a door leading to a closet. While Tal and Tyr were at the closet door, Dagerkin decided to hit the practice dummy. Then it decided to hit back. The bard decided to help by firing a couple of arrows into the dummy. The rogue decided that if Dagerkin got himself into trouble, he could get himself out of it. Dag was pretty good at dodging the dummy, and it was eventually broken. After the exercise room, the heroes went to the southern portion of the floor. There were five doors. The two on the east and the two on the west were just bedrooms, possibly for guards. The middle room had a big, heavy, locked door. Tyr cracked his knuckles, whipped out his picks, and got to work. He put forward a grand effort, but the lock was just beyond his ability. Tal began playing to inspire Tyr into making another attempted. This time, the rogue popped the lock and the heroes made their way into the vault. Within, they found three locked chests. Two contained gold and the third was empty. With treasure in hand, the heroes were ready to move on to the fourth floor.
Sole 18th, 1007 A3 (continued) Once Tyr, Taliesin, and Dagerkin entered the village of Randuhr, they were approached by a man wearing expensive-looking studded leather armor, a grey cloak, and a badge affixed to his armor. The man introduced himself as Astor Metz. After getting a better look, Tal figured out that the badge signified Astor as one of the Wolves of Barona, an elite, loyal task force that serves the king of Barona. After greetings and introductions, Astor inquired as to their reason for coming to Barona. Taliesin the Bard, careful of his words, said that they were traveling adventures and that was usually enough, but they were also looking for someone. Astor told them that he could possibly help them find they’re person if said person was actually in Randuhr, but he would need their help first. When asked to elaborate, Astor told them that he had been sent to this area to track down some bandits. He believed that the bandits were using the old, abandoned Harkan Tower as a base in nearby forest Giftholz. Astor couldn’t get the local soldiers to go with him to confront the bandits, because the locals think Harkan Tower is haunted and cursed. If the heroes could get proof the bandits are there and that the place wasn’t haunted, and then perhaps the soldiers could be convinced to go. If the heroes could take down the bandits, even better. Astor also told them they might want to talk to Burgermeister Harkan in town about the trip, because he has been wanting to recover a family heirloom from the site but was having the same problem with getting someone to go and find it. Astor Metz bid the party farewell and headed over to the captain at the bridge and talked to him. Tyr, Tal, and Dagerkin discussed what they would do. It was decided that they would head to the tower first thing in the morning. They wanted to spend the rest of the day trying to sell some of the loot they had been dragging around and gather some information on the tower. They headed to the edge of town where merchant caravans would camp while in town. On the way, two buildings stood out to them. One had a sign that had a moon and stars pattern on it. They found out it was a magic and oddities store ran by Marcos Sardona, a merchant from the Genoa county of Cadlaron. Tal conversed with Marcos in Genoan for a time, some of it idle banter, some of it while buying and selling items, and some of it asking about Harkan Tower. Marcos said that he had heard that it was haunted from the locals but had never gone there, so he doesn’t have proof of the claim. Supposedly, the last owner, Dr. Aduf Harkan, had gone crazy and threw himself from the top of the tower. The heroes thanked him for his time and info and headed out. The second building appeared to be the local tavern/inn. What was notable was the sign hanging out front, the silhouette of a black boar on a field of red (Note: the flag of Barona is a silhouette of a black eagle on a field of red). Tal had come to find out earlier that Schwarzer Eber (the name signed to the letter found on the hobgoblin in the complex west of Oak Grove) translated to Black Boar. After passing the two buildings, the group reached the caravans and was able to sell more of their treasure. They also did a little bit of shopping. They were not able to find out anything more about the tower, though. With all their buying and selling done, the heroes headed for the Harkan Estate to meet with Burgermeister Emil Harkan. Harkan Estate was a large, walled in property with two guards at the front gate. Two large guards. Armored ogres to be precise. Tal approached the guards and told them that he wished to meet the Emil Harkan concerning an heirloom. The guards rang the house, and shortly, a manservant exited the house and walked to the gate. Tal told the newcomer what he wished to discuss with Burgermeister Harkan. The servant left to check it his master was available, and returned to let them in. The heroes were led to a meeting chamber. Emil Harkan sat behind a desk, flanked by a troll bodyguard and a couple of humans. Emil appeared to be in his mid 40s, and wore finery typical of Baronan nobles. He greeted the adventurers and confirmed that they were going to go to Harkan Tower. They then discussed the tower and the heirloom Emil was wanting recovered. Emil confirmed his several times great granduncle’s suicide. He also said that Dr Harkan’s wife had fled with their children around the time he became very unstable. They returned to the capital to stay with family, but they all became ill on the way and died shortly after arriving at her brother’s estate. After Dr. Harkan’s death, some of his relatives came to the tower to put the estate in order. Supposedly, strange occurrences began to take place. Some people claimed to hear sounds or even voices. People would see shadowy figures, feel strange cold spots in rooms, and more. Then attacks started to happen. Everyone fled the place, claiming it was haunted or cursed. Most people won’t go near it now. Emil had gotten his hands on some journals that Aduf Harkan had written before going mad. From his readings, he believes that the doctor had an item of interest hidden away in the tower. He didn’t know where it was or what it was exactly, but he knew it was kept in an ivory box covered in carvings. The heroes told Burgermeister Harkan that they would keep an eye out for the heirloom and departed. The adventurers mostly spent the rest of the day at The Black Boar and slept there that evening. Oh yeah, and another round of the Lay of Tyr the Boweldigger was sung.
With this journal caught up, I will occasionally post bits of information about the setting. With that said, and with the adventurers entering Barona, here is a little bit of information about Barona. The Country of Barona During the Gods’ War, the peoples of this region ended up on the side of the evil deities that were attempting to seize control of all of Korrun. Today, this country still has a lawful evil bent to it, though King Mrgan is of a lawful neutral disposition. The peoples of Barona are mostly human. They speak Baronan, while nobles, soldiers, merchants, and scholars tend to also speak Cadlaronian (Common). Aside from humans, there are various monstrous races that live among the humans. They are generally more accepted here than in other countries. The inhabitants of Barona include ogres, trolls, goblinoids, and the Black Talon tribe of lizardfolk. The Black Talon tribe previously inhabited the swamps south of Valenth (the elven forests) and was often in contention with the elves there. Several thousand years ago, the nobles of Barona struck a deal for a number of Black Talon warriors to come to Barona and help serve the armies there, for the Black Talon tribe was known for its fierce warriors. After a large portion of the tribe was traveling to Barona, the elves decided it was a good opportunity to eliminate an enemy. The elves wiped out the remaining Black Talon tribe. This made the other tribes angry, but they also feared the might of the elves. The remaining Black Talons were furious, but their new employer would not allow them to travel back and take revenge on the elves. To this day that racial hatred persists. Black Talons try to hold to the law, for it is their duty to uphold it, but they are often willing to face punishment to kill an elf on sight. The peoples of Barona worship Horace, the lawful evil god of war and brutality. His followers are militaristic and typically enforce laws very strictly. The people put up with it, because the Baronan military and the priests of Horace are very good at maintaining the peace and protecting the citizens form the dangers that lurk in the darkness. There are those that dream of a life with more freedom, and unite as rebels to cause grief for the government and the priesthood. Many of these freedom fighters offer up prayers to Arken, hoping that they finally find justice.
Sole 10th, 1007 A3 The next three days on the road were uneventful. Sole 13th, 1007 A3 At the end of the day, Tyr, Taliesin, and Dagerkin parted company with the caravan at a town called Dartmouth. This little village sits at a crossroad as a convenient place for farmers to gather and travelers to stop for rest and supplies. They collected the pay they earned and headed to the inn. Once there, Tal couldn’t help but perform for everyone there. He laid out an impassioned rendition of The Lay of Tyr the Boweldigger in three part harmony (don’t ask me how, he’s an elven bard), which was greeted with raucous applause and one death threat. As the night drew on, everyone went to bed to get some rest before having to hit the road in the morning. Sole 14th, 1007 A3 In the morning, the trio ate breakfast at the inn. Afterwards, as they were heading out, they heard someone arguing just outside the inn door.
The heroes scouted about the field. As they did such, Dagerkin had point, and an ankheg popped up right in front of him. The team went into action immediately. The dealt a bit of damage, and its first attack went right over Dagerkin’s head. He could hear the acid from its mandibles sizzle as it dripped on his helmet. After a few solid blows, the ankheg made a successful bite right into Dagerkin’s chest and it looked like it was about to flee back down its hole. Before that could happen, Tyr was able to finish it off. The party looked around and decided that there was likely only the one ankheg, so the went to the farmer to let him know what happened. In appreciation for what they did, the farmer gave them a coin he had found in one of his fields. It was a coin of mage armor. Dagerkin popped that in his armor right away, moving his coin of cure light wounds to his buckler. After that, the trio continued their journey northwest, toward Randuhr on the border of Barona. Sole 15th, 1007 A3 Late in the evening, the heroes came across a temple dedicated to Sabetha. Taliesin was excited, until he saw that the front door had been bashed in. He also thought he was shadowy figures run off down the road. The heroes ran into the temple where they found one priest still alive, but barely. they healed the man up and revived him. He started to panic. It was revealed that a bard had entered the temple and stolen an artifact known as The Thorn of Sabetha. It is a dagger said to be created by Marcus Laurentis and has the ability to drain charisma from opponents and transfer it to the wielder. Once the man calmed down, he introduced himself as Brother Davor. The said that he didn’t know the thief; he was a well-dressed bard accompanied by some wolves. Pews were smashed and there were claw marks all over the place. Davor told the heroes that the assailant may have headed to the nearby town and that they needed to hurry and get there. He grabbed his mace, which was a finely wrought silver mace with a head designed to look like a drum with the holy symbol of Sabetha all around it. They four people rode to town. When they got there, they found five people in the middle of the road surrounded by wolves and dead townsfolk. A large, brutish man with wild, unkempt hair who was wielding a menacing great axe noticed the newcomers.
By this time, Brother Davor’s transformation was complete. The heroes tried to just knock out Davor, viewing him as an innocent. Tal was able to use the Demon Frog Tongue to get Davor’s mace and use it. That part of the fight didn’t take long. Then the three other wolves attacked. One was in a hybrid form while the other two were just wolves. This fight was a little tougher, but the heroes prevailed. Dagerkin did get bit by the werewolf creature, but he didn’t seem to be infected. Davor was restrained and the heroes got some rest. Sole 16th, 1007 A3 In the morning, the heroes explained to Davor what his situation was, and Davor assured them that he could handle getting himself somewhere for proper treatment. With that settled, the party went on its way. Sole 18th, 1007 A3 Late in the morning, the party crossed the river on a large bridge and arrived at the border crossing. Tal and Tyr had to pay a ten gold apiece to enter the country and receive official travel papers. Dagerkin has a writ of birth showing him to be a Baronan citizen and doesn’t have to pay.
Sole 5th, 1007 A3 In the morning, Tyr Blackwynd and Taliesin gathered up their things had headed to the caravan. As the merchants moved out, Tyr and Tal thought they recognized someone. It turned out to be Dagerkin whom they encountered at the Oaken Chest. They found out that he was a fighter/coincaster from Barona who hired on with the caravan for a little extra coin and experience. The first day passed by and was fairly uneventful. At the end of the day, Tal performed for the merchants, and they were impressed. Sole 6th, 1007 A3 The second day on the road saw a little more action. Sometime during the afternoon, Tal and Tyr heard a scream and a roar come from the front of the caravan. They rushed to the front and dismounted. Dagerkin was right behind them. When they got to the front, there was a gruesome sight before them. One of the guards was being torn apart by an owlbear. The heroes leaped in, but it was too late for the poor guard. The party surrounded the beast, and Tyr threw down a wolf from his bag of tricks for some insta-flanking. Another guard joined them to help fight the owlbear. He pulled a pistol from his belt and fired at the beast. The bullets the guy fired didn’t seem to do much, but every bit helped. They eventually killed the owlbear, but it tore up Tyr pretty badly. Dagerkin was able to heal him using a coin of cure light wounds. Nothing else of note happened that day. The caravan stopped at a hostel at the end of the day. Tyr talked with the gunman for a bit about his firearms, because he is kind of interested in purchasing one and training with it. Tal played for everyone at the hostel and was loved. Sole 7th, 1007 A3 Another uneventful day. Enough said. Sole 8th, 1007 A3 At the end of the 8th, the caravan stops at a roadside fort. Banners with an eye symbol on them hung on the walls facing the road. They identified the place as being manned by The Watchmen, a special Cadlaronian force charged with the defense of the roads in Cadlaron. The caravan entered through a gate into a large courtyard where they were going to stay for the night. While there, the heroes come to find out that there have been some problems with bandits in the area recently. The captain of the keep said they thought they knew the general area of their camp because none of their scouts had come back from there. Tal offers his services and goes to tell Tyr what they would be doing the next day. Dagerkin offers to go with them. Sole 9th, 1007 A3 After some searching, the heroes approached a clearing. Tyr was in the lead by about 20 feet. There was clear evidence of a campsite in the clearing. Tyr thought he could make out shadowy forms amongst the trees on the far side of the clearing. He signaled Tal and Dagerkin and they started to make their move. As the bandits started to circle around, arrows started to fly down from the treetops at Tal and Dagerkin. Tyr tossed out a wolverine to help him deal with an archer on the ground and another bandit on the north side of the clearing. Dagerkin engaged two more bandits toward the southern end of the clearing. Tal headed up the middle. He was eventually able to spot one of the two treetop archers up on a tree stand. Tal used the demon frog tongue and anchored it to the back of the platform. Once he reached the top, his momentum knocked the archer off of the platform. Tal leapt down after him, but didn’t exactly land gracefully. It didn’t matter though, because Tyr had finished his guys off and was joining them. The second archer slide down a rope from a second platform. The first archer ran, being chased by a wolverine. Dagerkin had dropped his bandits, so the leader was outnumbered so he tried to run. It was futile and he was eventually taken down. The found a socketed longbow on him, and it had a coin of lesser fire orb in it. Dagerkin claimed those. They also found a cloak with the Watchmen’s symbol on it, Turns out, the cloak is magical, and the captain lets the heroes keep it in appreciation for their aid. And now the caravan can move on.
Excellent! I'll have to add that to my flatware collection.
Sole 3rd, 1007 A3 (continued) The party listened at the barricade, but didn’t hear anything on the other side. They decided it was safe enough and tore down the barricade. Past the barricade was a large entryway and a set of large double-doors. They once led directly outside, but the adventurers stood before an earthen tunnel. Taking their chances, the party navigated the tunnel with no incidents and finally reached the outside. Using the map they had found on the hobgoblin, they determined which way Oak Grove lied, and started off. By the time the sun had gone down, the heroes traveled about 25 miles. They hadn’t made it to Oak Grove yet, but they were exhausted. They decided to camp out and continue in the morning. Sole 4th, 1007 A3 The heroes got up and continued on their way. After they had traveled 10 miles, they had reached the westernmost stretches of the Bravo property. They met up with some of the woodcutters employed by Jared and Josie’s parents, who ran ahead to tell Jonathan and Mary that their children had returned safely. The adventurers rested at the Bravo home and related the events that transpired over the last few days, omitting certain details that would needlessly stress Mary, while Mary fixed them a lunch that couldn’t be beat. Jonathan Bravo suggested that they send for a team of professional archeologists to be sent from Port Leaven to excavate the site. Jared agreed and said that he would stay and assist them, for a time at least. Josie said that she would be staying too. Tal, Tyr, and Branimir decided that they would move ahead and try to find out more about the letter and hunt down the man who sent it, and hopefully discover the meaning behind the strange half-open eye symbol. The party headed down to The Oaken Chest to have a talk with Verlon Softshoe, and hopefully to unload some of their hard-earned loot. They still had a lot of magic gear they needed to identify. Verlon had a stockpile of scrolls of identify that he sold to the party. Tal went through and identified anything they hadn’t quite figured out. Some of the things they had were: a +1 small steel shield, +1 longsword that glows pink, +1 small wooden shield of arrow catching, mystery wand (identify didn’t really work, there seemed to be all sorts of mixed signals being given off), bracers of armor +1, cloak of will +1, bracelet of shielding ( as the broach of the same name), a magic bag that reduces the weight and volume of items being stored in it, and gauntlets of ogre power that give off a powerful ogre stench when worn, +1 quarterstaff, mithral chain shirt, cloak of resistance +1, amulet of natural armor +1, cloak of fortitude +1, ring of protection +1, a variety of masterwork items, and a bunch of gem stones and jewelry. The party sold several of the items they had acquired. They also bought a rust-colored bag of tricks. They bought a potion of comprehend languages so they could figure out the letter. They discovered that the goblinoids were hired by someone named Schwarzer Eber to retrieve the Book of the Final Breath. The goblinoids were to bring the book to the town of Randuhr and meet “in the usual place”. The team decided that was where to go. They asked Verlon about Randuhr and he mentioned that it was a border town in Barona to the north. Another person overheard them talking a jumped in. “Hey, my name is Dagerkin and I’m from Barona. Maybe I could help.” Tal was kind of cold, because he didn’t want to share too much information about their quest. “Who asked you? Mind your own business.” Dagerkin bought a couple of things and left. Once all their business was complete, they still had a bunch of stuff left over because Verlon just couldn’t buy it all. Jared and Josie said their goodbyes and headed home. Branimir informed Tal and Tyr that he needed to commune with nature for awhile and would rejoin them when he could. Tal and Tyr bought horses to head out on. They saw that a caravan was in town. They decided to hire on with them as guards. the caravan was heading to Oxford, which meant that they would have to part ways at the crossroads at Dartmouth some 200 miles north. They hired on, but the caravan wasn’t leaving ‘til morning, so Tal and Tyr went back to the Bravos’ place, had another meal that couldn’t be beat, and went to bed.
Sole 3rd, 1007 A3 (continued) Tyr Blackwynd moved to the front of the group to check out the door. Upon the door was an engraving depicting a battle between angels and demons. There was no door handle and there was no lock to pick. After some closer examination, Tyr noticed that one of the demons held a big key instead of a sword. The key could be depressed, so Tyr pressed it and the door slid away. As the party entered the room, their everburning torch and in-place light spell both started to flicker. As they looked around, they found themselves in a dark office. As they tried to find anything useful, several members of the group heard a whispering voice say “Die”. Tyr quickly made his way back to the hallway. Taliesin called him back in as he spotted a hidden door in the corner of the room. Tyr was able to open it quickly. The door opened to reveal a dark, cramped stairway leading down. The lights flickered again. Tyr started down, followed by Josie and the rest of the party. The walls of the stairway were streaked with dirt from moisture working its way down. About halfway down the curving stairs, Tyr noticed a pattern in the streaks spelling out “D I E”. Tyr quickly put Josie first coming down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, Josie cries out that she thinks she saw a shadowy something or other move through some closed doors at the far side of the room. That’s right, through the actual door, without it being open. As the party entered the room, the lights flickered again. The room appeared to be a bedroom. Tal and Jared threw on the detect magics and noticed something under the bed. Tyr walked over and crouched down. He found a locked drawer with a hidden latch. Just before he opened it, a shadowy humanoid form popped up and a whispery voice said, “Mine!”. Tyr rolled out of the way as the others began fighting the shadow. They lucked out as their magic weapons struck true. One the shadow figure dissipated, the gloom in the room eased noticeably. Tyr opened the draw to find a third eye amulet, this one with a green iris. The adventurers went over to the double-doors and opened them. A 10’ hall led to another door. This one had a giant demonic face with three eyes. There was a riddle inscribed within the mouth of the demon. “You see what is mine and are left with envy. With anger I take what is mine by right. Clear vision will carry the victor to the top.” Tyr smiled, pulled out the three amulets and placed them in the appropriate spots: green in the left, red in the right, and clear on top. The doors parted to reveal a vault. There wasn’t much treasure remaining in the vault. It appeared that a ritual was being performed here long ago. A book and an ornate dagger sat before a circle of runes. Tal picked up the book and thumbed through it. From what he could pick up from the illustrations, the book detailed methods of attaining lichdom. Tal recognized the name on the cover of the book from the letter they had found on the hobgoblin. In a treasure chest in the corner, the party found 1000 gold coins and a statue-looking thing of a golden, horned frog. The frog was stretched out so that a person could grip about its midsection. Tyr noticed that the frog’s eyes were actually buttons. He pointed the frog toward the opposite wall and pressed the left eye. A tongue shot out across the room, sticking to the other side. Then it retracted, pulling Tyr through the air and slamming him into the wall. He then tried the right eye. A flaming, whip-like tongue dropped down from the mouth. A second push retracted it. Pushing both eyes at the same time did nothing. Tal ended up claiming the frog, because he could use a whip a lot better that Tyr could. With the vault searched, it seemed like the only choice was to return to the barricaded hallway near where they entered the complex. So they did.
Sole 3rd, 1007 A3 The heroes kept up a watch as they tried to rest in the botany lab. At one point during the night, they could hear the sound of something being dragged out in the halls. The sources of the sounds got further away, until they could no longer be heard. Once everyone had rested up, they party gathered their things and left the lab to find out what had happened during the night. (Note: It’s probably about five in the morning, but they don’t know that.) The party discovered that the bodies of the goblinoids were gone, and a trail of blood led south, deeper into the dungeon. Tal decided that they would follow the trail and see where it leads. On the way, they passed up some doors because the trail didn’t lead to them. They decided they could come back later. They did check into one room that turned out to be a large practice area for spellcasters. This was the room that the bugbear and company had come from, but through a different door. Eventually, the group came to the end of the trail. In front of the door, they found a lot of blood drying on the ground and splashed along the bottom of the door. They decided to go in. Upon opening the door, they immediately see a skeletal dwarf and a skeletal wolf. As they charged in, they noticed a skeletal human to the side of the room. And for the big reveal, after the party had entered the room, a ghast and two ghouls jumped out. The heroes fought hard. Eventually, the skeletons and ghouls were taken down, but three of the five adventurers were paralyzed. That left a two on one situation, and the heroes came out on top. They determined what they had found was a necromancy lab. They found all sorts of horrible tools and a box of black onyxes. Guess which one the heroes took. The heroes searched the other rooms of the dungeon. They found a room that led to three hallways full of varying sized prison-style cells. The huge doors at the end of the halls could not be opened, as if they were barred. There were tons of switches, but the party decided against playing with them. The group also found a biology lab, a forge, a golem workshop (where they found another eye amulet, this one clear), and a storage room for finished magic items. Now this room held all sorts of wonders. There was a magic wand that did gods know what, a magic longsword that glows pink, two magic shields, a magic bracelet, magic amulet, magic cloak, and maybe a couple other baubles. I’ll cover all these a little more closely when the party identifies them. After all this, there was only one door left, the one the goblin rogue was trying to open. What secrets could it possible hold?
The Sterling Butter Knife of Probability - This simple butter knife is a halfling artifact that grants the wielder extraordinary luck. If we pair it up with the Kender Spoon of Turning, then we would just need to find ourselves a magic fork. Hmmm... maybe the gnomes have something to offer.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 (continued) The heroes returned to the open-air garden and the stairs leading to the basement. One by one they descended, not knowing what to expect. At the bottom of the stairs was a second garden. There was thick, dirt-covered glass overhead where sunlight once shown down. There was a door facing west, which was open. The floor showed signs of recent travel. The party cautiously went through the doors into a hallway. There was a door to their right, a door right across from them, and a door farther down the hall across from them. Farther down from that was more hall and an intersection. The group decided to check out the doors directly across from them. On the other side of those doors, they found what appeared to be an ancient botany lab. The next door down the hall led to an old alchemy lab. There was a door on the opposite side of the alchemy lab. It exited into another hallway. Before they could really take in their surroundings, the party hears a cry as two goblin warriors spot them and call for help. There was an intersection to the left of the heroes where the goblins stood. The heroes closed with them, accept for Jared who went out the lab door the party had originally entered through. A goblin rogue came from the western arm of the intersection. Soon after, a big bugbear barbarian, a hobgoblin cleric, and some goblin warriors entered from the southern end of the hallway. The bugbear rushed in immediately, swinging away with a great axe. Tal managed to stop the hobgoblin and one of the goblins with a riveting bit of Fascinating Song. Jared entered from the east slinging Ray of Frost and attracting the attention of a goblin warrior and the goblin rogue. He ended up barricading himself in the lab while the druid tore the two apart. After an exciting battle, the heroes stood victorious and spent. They decided it was time to loot. They found some potions, a socketed great axe with a coin of cause fear in it, and a few other magic items. Tyr Blackwynd found on the hobgoblin an eye-shaped medallion with a ruby iris in it (which he kept to himself) and some scrolls (which he shared). One scroll appeared to be a letter written in goblin. I actually handed the players a letter printed on paper designed to look like a scroll. One of the players correctly guessed that I used Russian for Goblin. None of the party members could read goblin, so I got to hold onto the translated copy. One thing they did notice about the letter was that after the signature was a seal that looked like the amulet they had found on the black-robed man in the sewers of Port Leaven. They decided they needed to get it translated. After all this, the group decided they needed time to rest up before continuing to search the place. They barricaded themselves in the botany lab and tried to get some sleep.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 (continued) At the end of the hall, there were three double-doors; one on the left, one on the right, and one at the end. As the rogue and bard moved toward the door on the right, they heard a noise to the left. They went to that door and opened it up. Two goblins with crossbows were waiting about 50’-60’ down the hall behind an overturned table. Tal used his Fascinating Song on the goblins and got them both. Branimir entered the hall and moved the barricade. As the rest of the party moved in, they were attacked by a hobgoblin form a room near the front of the hall. As he attacked, the hobgoblin started yelling out commands in goblin. Two more goblins came from the far end of the hall. The door that the party was going to check out first in the main hall opened up, with three more goblins coming out, one a cleric. The ensuing battle was quite exciting, with Branimir the druid and Josie Bravo both coming close to meeting their ends. After the battle, there was much looting to be done. The hobgoblin’s bastard sword was socketed and had a Color Spray coin in it. A couple of the side rooms (which appeared to be guest quarters) had some magic items as well. This included two more coins, Hold Portal and Prestidigitation. After the looting was complete, the party crossed the main hall to go into the room on the opposite side. There they found a large ancient library. While Tyr drooled over dusty, faded tomes, the rest of the party had a look about. Bran found another set of doors leading to a small garden. About 100’ straight up was open sky. If only they had a way to scale it and climb out the top. Bran also found stairs leading down to a second floor beneath them. After some discussion, the party decided to check the last door before going downstairs. When examining the doors, someone noticed that they rattled slightly, then stopped. A few moments later it repeated. The rogue threw the door open. The party saw an iron golem, and there was a wind whipping about the room. As the rogue tried to close the door, the wind slammed the door open and entered the hallway. The party defeated the air elemental without too much fuss (except maybe to their hair) and cautiously entered the room with the golem. It didn’t move. After 1000 years, the elemental spirit (that they just killed) had broken free of the golem and it was powerless. The party went through some doors behind the golem to find a throne room and a dead teleportation circle. With nothing of use there, it was time for the heroes to try their luck downstairs.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 (continued) Near the door by which the party entered this hall, Tal found a secret door. The passage behind it led away from where they had already explored and toward the far end of the main hallway. The passage exited into another side hall with eight rooms coming off of it. These rooms all had white Xs. They appeared to be servants’ quarters. The party checked out the double doors leading into the main hallway. They found that they were in a part of the main hallway between the two portcullises. There was an open doorway on the opposite side of the hall. There was also another secret passage opposite of the one they had entered through. They decided to take the secret passage. The second secret passage led to another hall practically identical to the previous one. After a quick search, they check the doors leading to the main hallway. Now they were past the second portcullis. The group decided to backtrack to the middle section of the main hallway and check out the open doorway. They were expecting to find a bunch of goblins at the ready when they entered there. What they found was a kitchen. The goblins had been using it, but there didn’t appear to be any there at that moment. Someone saw that there was a row of huge ovens, and goblins could be hiding in them. They went over to investigate. Someone noticed that the doors on two of the ovens were vibrating. The PCs found a fire elemental in each of the two rattling ovens. There was an open archway leading from the kitchen to a hallway. Directly across from the archway was a pair of doors leading to a banquet hall. Down the hall, back toward the main hallway, the heroes found a security room. The open doors at the end of this hallway led to the spot where the two goblins had been put to sleep and the third one ran away. The party had come full circle. In the guard room there were two levers, one was broken. The useable lever raised the first portcullis. The also found a secret door in the guard room. The door led to the passage coming from the gallery and waiting room. The group decided that all there was left to do was to get back around to the far end of the main hallway where the light was. So they did.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 (continued) The party tensed, readying themselves for whatever was about to come around the corner. Then the group came face-to-face with a goblin and a wolf. The wolf rushed in on the adventurers. The goblin was about to do the same, but when he saw how outnumbered he was, he screamed and made a run for it. The druid in his predator form (using a druid variant from PHBII) ran down the goblin and took him down. Three more goblins appeared from an open double-door about 30’ to 40’ down the hall on the right. Tal put two of them down with a sleep spell. The third goblin ran back through the open doors, yelling something in goblin. A moment later, a loud grinding sound filled the hallway was two heavy portcullis’ dropped down to block the main hallway. One came down just after the doorway the goblin ran through (and the closed double-doors opposite of it). The second one came down somewhere farther down the hall. With three dead goblins and a dead wolf about them, the party had to decide what to do. They decided that any other inhabitants are bound to know that there are intruders in the complex, so there was little point to chasing down the goblin that got away. They went back down the side hall that they had already been in to check out the two remaining rooms. They found a gallery, a receiving room, and a secret passage that connected the two. The passage also connected to another room toward where the goblin ran. They decided to come back to it later. The party decided to try out the unopened doors on the left side of the main hallway before following after the goblin. They found a hallway with four doors on either side. Seven of them had a white X on them. The far door on their right had a red X on it. The white X rooms appeared to be guard quarters. The managed to find some weapons and armor, only keeping the few pieces they found of masterwork quality. The red X room was larger, appearing to be a store room. Everything was covered in webs, including a goblin-sized lump across the room. Once inside, the party was attacked by a trio of small monstrous spiders. Jared was able to work himself into position and unleash Burning Hands with minimal collateral damage. After the battle, the web bundle was examined to find it in fact was a goblin, webbed and dead. They also found a break in the wall that might have lead to the surface. Unfortunately, none of them were small enough to fit through. They would have to keep looking.
Sole 2nd, 1007 A3 The party (Jared Bravo, human coincaster; Josie Bravo, human fighter; Taliesin, elf bard; Tyr Blackwynd, human rogue, Branimir, human druid) grabbed some shovels and headed back to the half-buried door. They arrived in the early afternoon and spent some time digging. Once they could get the door open, they ditched the shovels and went in. They room wasn’t very big. It appeared to be an office or study space. There was a writing desk, work bench, and a shelf with ancient, rotted books. There was a staircase to the left of the door, but the passage had collapsed some time before. A search of the room revealed a couple of spell coins to Jared’s delight. Tal found a journal open on the table that was partially legible in spots. It appeared this was the living space of a wizard’s apprentice. That would mean the structure pre-dated The Sundering. In a far corner of the room, the party discovered a ring of faintly glowing glyphs on the floor in a circle. After some discussion, it was decided that it was likely a teleportation circle of some sort. The party decided to go through the circle. They found themselves on a platform facing a ten foot wide hallway stretching out before them. The last person through the circle noticed that it was no longer glowing. The last bit of 1000 year old magic had been squeezed out of it, and the circle could no longer teleport. The group of adventurers would have to find another way out. They started down the hall. They could see lit torches in the distance. They could also see that the dust on the floor had been disturbed recently. They weren’t too excited to find out who was there, but it gave them hope of finding another way out. Walking down the hall a short ways, they came to a set of closed double doors to their left and an open pair of double doors to their right. These led to another hallway. Tyr examined the door and determined that it was not locked or trapped. When he tried to open them, the doors seemed to be blocked by something on the other side. The party decided to try going right through the open doors. They could see some doors on the left side of the hall and another hallway branching off from the right. They check the other hall real quick. That hallway turned left after a short distance and then was blocked by a bunch of piled up debris. The hall was blocked all the way to the ceiling. Someone heard a buzzing sound from the other side of the barricade. They determined it was a giant wasp and that way was not for them. The returned to the hallway with the two doors they hadn’t checked yet. Before they could do anything else, the heroes heard approaching footsteps coming from the main hallway.
Fiore 31st, 1007 A3 At this point, I had enough people that wanted to play that I split the groups. Jared, Tal, Tyr, and Branimir left in the morning. North and Gimble were left in the hospital. I’ll start up a separate journal for them and their new travel companions at a later date. A day of cruising up the river brought the party to Oak Grove. Jared introduced his new friends to his mother and they all chatted for a bit. Then entered Jared’s older sister, Josie. She had just gotten back from training at a popular martial college where she specialized in halberd combat. While everyone visited, Mary Bravo mentioned that some of the workers were claiming that they had seen a rogue bear in the woods, and someone has already been hurt. She asked if Jared and his friends would check it out in the morning. They agreed and Josie said she would tag along. Sole 1st, 1007 A3 The party headed west through all of the Bravo holdings, until they reached the edge of where new cutting was taking place. They started looking for clues, and random encounters ensued. After a couple of hours, they came across a grumpy dire badger. The badger attacked the party, and the party proved victorious. Upon searching the area, someone discovered a den dug into the side of a hill. Tal went into the hole, and found a half-buried door. When he told everyone what he had found, they decided to head back to Oak Grove and come back the next day with shovels and additional supplies. On the way back, the party encountered a giant wasp. It got one good sting in, and then the party ran for it. They actually managed to escape the vermin, but it wouldn’t be the last time they heard the buzz of giant wasp wings. DUN DUN DUN!
Conan would bow to the power of the Hypnotoad.
Fiore 29th, 1007 A3 (continued) The somewhat victorious heroes reconnected with their absent comrades and relayed the recent events. Everyone decides it is time to patch up and relax for the night. On the next day, Jared would be returning home to Oak Grove, and the others were going to tag along. Jared swung by the river docks and found one of his father’s boat was in town. It wouldn’t be leaving until the 31st, but Jared decided that it would be better to wait. He goes to the tavern where everyone is staying to let them know, then heads off to his dorm to finish packing. Tal entertains the tavern-goers with an inspired rendition of The Lay of Tyr the Boweldigger, which elicited tons of applause and one frown. After some partying, the party called it a night. Fiore 30th, 1007 A3 Everyone pitches in to help Jared take his stuff to the boat while he tells them a little bit about his family. His parent, Jonathan and Mary Bravo, are lumber merchants. They have a logging operation, a lumber mill, and a paper mill. They are pretty much the most important family in Oak Grove and have made quite a bit of money. Which is good, because it meant they could afford to send Jared to Beckhardt. As the morning progressed, Gimble and North started to feel ill. They were running a pretty high fever. They must have got something in the sewers the previous day (see Filth Fever). They were taken to the Port Leaven Medical Institute. Afterwards, the rest of the gang went to the Adventurers’ Guild to get their memberships. They left two memberships at the hospital for North and Gimble, then went to the boat to prepare for the next day’s journey.
I was DMing a party consisting of a half-elf fighter/sorcerer/dragon knight, human rogue, and elf ranger/wizard/arcane archer. The half-elf dragon knight had just become the protector of a small border town. While the half-elf and elf were meeting with the king in the capitol, the rogue infiltrated a newly formed thieves guild. Once the half-elf and elf returned, they decided to fake the death of the rogue's cover identity. During a public appearance, the rogue tried a daring daylight robbery of the dragon knight's sword. He failed, of course, and the elf arcane archer shot him with a cure light wounds arrow. The rogue was to play dead. He failed horrible. So the elf happily shot him again. And he failed again. After a third shot and fail, the half-elf punched the rogue, grabbed him, and dragged him away. Most of us found it hilarious.
As a DM, I always had the players make a balance check if they fumble. If they failed, a wild swing threw them off balance and they fell. If they succeeded, then they kept from falling and I just leave it at that. I haven't had any complaints.
ok now ur just trying to make me sound dumb Not at all. It was merely a clarification for the viewers at home. There are magic items that can adhere directly to a weapon or piece of armor and convey abilities upon them. Coins don't work that way and I was reiterating that. Could I have worded it differently? Of course, that is the nature of language. But I didn't. I hope it didn't upset you to much.
how many coins can a dark wood buckler hold?? None, unless it is socketed. A buckler can hold one socket.
Fiore 29th, 1007 A3 (continued) Tyr, the rogue, decided to try to gather information to locate the robed stranger. Branimir, the druid, seeks nature’s assistance. The other four search the Merchant Quarter for clues. During this search, dire rats start pouring out of the sewers. As the city guards fight off a plague of dire rats, the bard, barbarian, coincaster, and cleric head below ground to find the source. Misty doesn’t like it, so she doesn’t go in with them. After fighting through some dire rats, the heroes find a large crack in the side of the tunnel. Dire rats come pouring out, but these ones are different. Their eyes glow read and sulfurous smoke rises from their mouths. Their white horns stood out against black fur. Fiendish Dire Rats! The heroes finished off a group of FDRs, but before they could catch their breaths, more came pouring out of the crack. The adventures went through three waves of FDRs before making it through the breach. They found themselves in a dark, narrow cave, and there was light ahead… and more rats. The group fought their way to an open cave. Before them was an open portal to some infernal realm. Between the heroes and the portal was some creature the size of a wolf chewing on a black-clad bloody lump, the stranger. The monster turned toward the unfortunate adventurers, the largest dire rat any of them had ever seen, a dire rat of unusual size if you will. The DROUS and a couple FDRs turned their attention to the party. The barbarian and cleric charged in with the bard supporting them. Jared worked on disrupting the portal. Jared took out the portal, but the rest of battle began to look… well, dire. Suddenly, everyone heard a shriek. A purple blur came flying into the cave and quickly splashed down in a pool in the corner. Shortly, a man carrying a short spear came running into the room. He pulled up quick and assessed the situation. He went after the DROUS and took it down, alive. He captured it and then turned to the others. “Did any of you see a pseudodragon come running through here?” Everyone shook their heads. The man just shrugged and exclaimed, “Oh well, this rat should fetch a good price with the Monster Hunters Guild.” He took his rat and left. Once the hunter was gone, Misty rejoined Jared as the group searched the area for clues as to what happened. The bloody, half-eaten corpse did indeed appear to be the stranger. They heroes found the strange medallion in the shape of a half-open eye. They could really find much more to tell them what the man was attempting to do, or where his ritual went wrong, but it did and he was dead. There was nothing more they could do, so the adventures left the sewers.
You might also take a look at WarGods of Aegyptus (Paizo has them under Miniatures Games).
It appears that there are at least a few of us.
i bet it was fun watching him go after a monkey lol Exceedingly entertaining.
Fiore 29th, 1007 A3 (continued) After completing the second tower, the party decided to head back toward the Adventures’ Guild. On the way, they hear quite a commotion coming from up ahead. They hurried forward to find people screaming and running away from a krenshar. A human druid (Branimir, a new PC) also rushed up as the party arrived. As they were about to attack, a by-stander yells out to the PCs,” Don’t kill my krenshar! Just catch it!” It was the owner of the exotic pet store they were standing in front of. North steps up. The krenshar let loose with its scare effect. North roared back, spun his axe to the flat, and knocked out the beast in one blow. Afterwards the party talked to the shop owner. He said that a strange man in a dark robe came into his shop and let several animals loose. The only detail he could remember about the person was that they were wearing a medallion that looked like a half-open eye. The shop owner asked them to find his missing pets. He said that he noticed five more empty cages, and if the heroes could return his property, he would reward them. About that time, more screams could be heard. The 6 PCs split into 3 pairs: bard and barbarian, rogue and cleric, coincaster and druid. Tal and North spotted a small, upright lizard by an alleyway. North went after it and got zapped by an electrical charge. The shocker lizard (if you hadn’t guessed) ran down the alley. Tal pulled out his bow and some magic arrows he came across in one of the towers. He hit with the first, and the lizard started to droop as if it was going to fall asleep in the middle of the action. It snapped back to attention and tried to find an escape. A second arrow missed, but the third was solid and put the lizard to sleep. On the way back to the shop, they came across a tiny monstrous spider on the side of a building. North walked up and grabbed it and brought it along. Tyr and Gimble found a hawk perched on a merchant stall. Tyr had grabbed a net before setting out. Of course, he isn’t proficient with a net so it wasn’t that surprising when he missed. Lacking time to properly fold the net before throwing it again made it even harder to use. The gnome eventually grabbed the bird; they wrapped it in the net and carried on. The found a monkey loose among the merchant stalls. Tyr gave chase. I came up with a fairly useful mechanic on the spot to resolve this. As Tyr ran after the monkey, weaving through people and stalls, he had to make a reflex save. Success would bring him five feet closer to the monkey. If he failed more than once in a row, he would fall back five feet. Once he got right up on the monkey, he could try to grapple it. If he failed the grapple, the monkey would gain some ground and the chase resumed. Tyr didn’t catch him at first grab, and the whole chase scene seemed to get everyone a little excited. Eventually the monkey was caught and they headed back. Jared and Branimir run off in their own direction. Jared spots a small purple tail sticking out from some barrels. As he gets close, the pseudodragon runs off into a shop. Jared goes in after it. While looking around, he hears a feminine voice in his head say,” Is he gone?” Jared replied,” Is who gone?” The voice responded,” The evil, robed man.”
Everyone arrived at the shop and returned the animals. Jared finds out that the pseudodragon wasn’t really an escaped pet, she just ran off because she was scared. Her name is Mystera, Misty for short. She kinda becomes attached to Jared, so the shop owner says he can hold on to her. It is also revealed that a rare red rat was stolen from the shop, likely by the mystery man. The group decides to go looking for the robed stranger.
The 4ePHB was designed with the intent to create a character that could whup Conan.Oh come now - you can take out Conan O'Brien with one of those old Basic boxed sets if you swing it hard enough! That reminds me of something else I "heard": All official 4E books have to be licenced and registered, with a 5-day waiting period.
Clues hidden in the illustrations of the core books reveal a means by which to open a gateway to Hell.
Fiore 29th, 1007 A3 The group meets up at the Adventurers’ Guild. Dax is a no show, but the group takes on Gimble, a gnome cleric of Forsetti (god of invention). They go to the second tower and enter. 1st Floor: Bedchamber. Party battles a couple of giant fire beetles. They find some loot in a closet and find a hidden room containing a summoning circle and a fiendish looking book (that turned out to be a prop). 2nd Floor: Personal Library. This room was full of webbing. The party fought a couple of giant spiders. A webbed package was found in the back of the room. It turned out to be a body. Tyr dug in there and got an anti-toxin and a spellcoin. 3rd Floor: Gallery. While exploring, one of the party members found an alcove. A shelved area in the alcove was divided into 4 sections. One held a small statue of a flame. Another one held a whirlwind statue. The third was a cresting wave. The forth cubby was empty. Within moments, the party was attacked by a small earth elemental. The party wounded it and it escaped. 4th Floor: Lab. The party found 3 bodies here, 2 human and one kobold. The bodies proceeded to get up and beat on the party. After one zombie got turned, the party picked apart the other two and then finished off the third. 5th Floor: Empty! Yep. There was just a large square hole to the side in the room. So the party decided to go down. 6th Floor: Riddle! Ankle-deep in water, the party looks around to see three chests on the opposite side of the room. As they approached, a disembodied voice instructed the party concerning the chests. Each chest has a riddle on it. When someone approaches a chest and reads the riddle, they can touch the riddle plaque and speak the answer. If they are right, then the box opens. If they are wrong, well…
“Lighter than what I am made of,
The answer is: Spoiler:
Ice or an iceberg. They got it right. Within the chest was:
Spoiler:
A ray of frost spellcoin, a container of polar salve (protection against cold), and a cold crystal (an alchemical item used for cooling liquids/drinks) After all this, the party left the tower, ready to find some more adventure. |
