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The party conceals itself in a copse of trees on a small hill overlooking the path. Thaddeus flies ahead, with his spells prepared as mentioned...mage armor, greater; protection from arrows and detect magic.

He will intercept the war band about a mile from the party. He flies up, his detect magic up. Thaddeus realizes that the nature of the spell means he has to spend a round concentrating on a 10'x50' path, from about 20' up, which means he will be able to evaluate about 3-4 creatures at most per round.

The war band will cover the mile to the party's hiding spot in about half an hour.

Need more detail on how you all will pull this off; also need posts from the other players

The tower gets settled in as indicated.

Please update the tower map with your modifications.

Fort Arazarm is about 12 miles from the tower, following an old trade road that has been abandoned and not maintained well since the invasion of the Bone March. Hence, going is rough and it will take about a half day to reach the Fort.

Thaddeus flies ahead, invisible. Near lunch time, he's about a half mile ahead of the party when he spots a gnoll war party, bolstered by two hill giants, on the path headed south towards the party. They're about a mile away and will be on the party in about 20 minutes. There are at least sixty to eighty gnolls, two hill giants and they have two teams of oxen pulling large onagers. Interspersed among the gnolls are larger gnolls carrying two handed swords. Most of the gnolls are armed with wicked looking longbows, morning stars and appear to be well armored and more disciplined looking than regular gnolls. They're not yipping and fighting with each other and appear to be keeping good discipline. They're spread out about 10' from each other and have scouts up front and to the flanks. The rear guard consists of six of the bigger gnolls and an ogre with a quadralest (quadruple heavy crossbow).

Correction: Verlik states that he will only travel to town routinely as long as the river is safe and clear, as it takes an hour and a half to travel to town, but nearly four hours to return, assuming they have enough rowers.

For ease of reading, I'm going to fast forward the game in bullet form, covering a week of time. Clarified that the 'message' spell being

referred to in the post is actually the 'sending' spell.

You find out that Beetu used to have a miner's guild that did provide skilled miners for Blemu Hills projects. Rumors have it that most of these

people have fled into Nyrond and some may be under King Ap'Hiller's (gnome king) protection now or working for them. However, some hard core

workers may remain. Ferin used to send a barge with fish and other goods to Knurl and Beetu up until a few months ago when the invasion started.

The last two barges were attacked by bandits and all cargo was stolen, so none have been sent recently.

Inquires to Thaddeus' father and Belric's connections determine that such skilled labor is available, but the land is too unsettled to attract

anyone. It would be unlikely you'll be able to get much population base into the area until you have raised an army and proven you can hold off

the humanoid hordes, which everyone knows can project power at will. They also know that if the area starts being resettled, the bandits and

humanoids WILL come.

On Goodmonth 26, the gnomish squad arrives at Ferin and will purchase supplies before heading to the tower. They are led by Ayredo, a no-nonsense

gnomish commando type with a ton of scars. He lets his squad socialize and hang out with the locals, but he pitches a tent under the village

walls and disappears inside.

Hanna tells Thaddeus that she'd love to see the tower and appreciates the dinner invite, which she accepts. Thaddeus senses that she takes her work for Edwald pretty serious and she's not ready to fraternize further at this time, although she is nice about it and definitely doesn't shut the connection off permanently.

Verlik gives Agathon a quizzical look when he talks about spending his days in the village and his evenings in the tower, considering the two are twelve miles apart. "That's very hostile country and neither me, the gnomes or the ladies are going to leave the damn tower once we're settled in unless it's on fire."

Margarete is very friendly towards Agathon. She's very flattered and shocked that he would still want to be friendly towards her.

Jacques speaks with Agathon about the tower defenses and village defense situation, as indicated. On Goodmonth 27, a day before the group leaves for the tower to deposit the gnomish squad and the servant women and henchmen, Shirana Silverstar arrives in Ferin, flying her hippogriff as
usual. Her arrival makes the other hippogriffs very nervous, as it's obvious her bird is from a different brood. The squawking and screeching calls between Edwald's flock and Shirana's hippogriff, which sits on top of the inn's roof eating a sheep keeps the entire village on edge.

Shirana has dinner with the party. She would like to use the party's tower as a patrol base. Word that they captured it got out to Knurl and everyone in the town knows that the place has a aerie in the top. She also privately expresses her distrust for Edwald, stating that Duke
Archendale is known to persecute followers of Pholtus. Before leaving, she gives an extra long hug and kiss on the cheek to Jacques, whispering in his ear "you've done well, shy one" and then leaves early so that the screeching doesn't keep the town awake all night.

Goodmonth 28--the party leaves for the tower. A large supply wagon with foodstuffs and other sundries has been loaded up (mark off 400gp) and the gnomes all bear huge packs which they can ditch for speed as necessary. Ayredo states that they will hunt for meat as well, but the depth of winter might be a meager time.

Very nice color posts and I see some indication of what you are going to do, but I need some party clarity. For consistency's sake, and so we don't get out of the habit, list your AC, current hp, current spell effects up and duration, plus a summary of your intended action so that I can quickly find and resolve them when you post. Thanks. Everyone take 100xp for posting.

The game moved to real life for the weekend of Oct 5-7th, as all the players and GM gathered for the third marathon gaming weekend of this

campaign.
Reaping 24: Into the giant mines backdoor: After battling a remorhaz and pushing through a squad of ogres and giants, the party negotiates a

release of the mining slaves with Brondak, the Bloody Eye Sub-chief in the mine.
Reaping 25: Seal off the mines with stone shape spells afer being unable to fully explore the water filled pool that probably led to an

underground river connected to the Harp river.
Reaping 26: Harald the chronicler joins the party in camp that night.
Reaping 27: While escorting the freed mine slaves to Ferin, the party kills a large gnoll war party.
Reaping 28: After freeing the slaves in Ferin, the party introduces Jacques as the new liege lord of Ferin to mixed reviews from the locals.
The party meets back up again with Ebbers, who reveals details on the river pirates plaguing the land. At lunch, the party discusses cooperation

with Nyrond and Duke Archendale with Sir Edwald, who is renting a home in Ferin. He offers a Nyrond adventuring charter for further cooperation.

Thaddeus exchanges spells with Hanna, the henchman of Sir Edwald, another mage. The party christens themselves "The Peacemakers" and stays at the

mayor's home in Ferin for the night.
Reaping 28: While moving towards the dark tower of the river pirates about 15 miles upriver from Ferin, the party is attacked by the orcish

pirates. Garsh Hardstone dies during the battle.
Goodmonth 1: Assault on the Helm of Night tower. Kill the strange jawed devil at the top level
Goodmonth 2: REst up, heal up and seal up the tower with glyphs and stone shape.
Goodmonth 5: Taking a barge and hiring some bargemen in Ferin, the party returns to Knurl. Belric loans 3000gp to Count Dunstan at 1%/month.

Thaddues does the same. Agathon just donates 3000gp to the Count.
Goodmonth 6: Jacques hires two Ferin fishermen (Bastel and Kruger) as barge captain and first mate, allowing them to use the barge for whatever

they want as long as it is available for the party and to help defend the town. Edgar and Verlik are going to stay behind in FErin as

representatives of the "Peacemakers". The party closes down the manor in Knurl, taking everything to Ferin.
Goodmonth 17: Finished inscribing scrolls in Ferin; party leaves to find the black dragon that ate Idnae. Ebbers gave them directions to his

swampy lair high in the Flinty Hills.
Goodmonth 22: high in the Flinty hills, the party battles lizardmen in the dragon's swamp, but retreats when they realize they've made too much

noise. The dragon, apparently polymorphed into a gnome, manages to ambush the party while they sleep. He nearly kills them all, but they drive

him off. Ebbers convinces the party to leave the dragon be for now and in return will send a squad of gnomes to help guard the party's new home,

the Helm of Night Tower.
Goodmonth 25: The party returns to Ferin, where the gnomish squad is supposed to meet them in a few days.

Belric goes outside and gets a long stick, which he then uses on the web. The web is tough and sticky and Belric has to use strength to continue working on the web. It takes about a minute.

Jacques notices that smaller spiders inside the web flee into crevaces in the roof of the cave entrance.

As holes open up in the web, the smelter smell becomes even stronger.

Agathon, peering beyond the web, sees a 15' wide cavern passage heading down. He sees a pair of ogres coming up towards the web. These ogres are different, though, as they are wearing decent looking chain mail and have big crossbows ready. They are about 40' away from the web and looking at it with curiosity and caution.

Edwald nods and says "not sure we have the strength for a full strength assault on the mines, but we will set up a perimeter and try to kill anything that comes out. By the way, we have a Silveraxe in our command as well. I will let him know that kin is nearby. We can wait two days, then we head back to Ferin. It's a small village not too far from here."

He wheels off and his fellow riders follow him. You notice they are both females.

Mark off 3 minutes.

5 minutes later you arrive at entrance. The familiar scent of a smelter mixed with cooking fires greets you. Smoke pours from several crevaces among the trees, which disperses the smoke so it is not too noticeable from far away.

Jacques examines the copse of trees, invisibly. There is a large boulder that leans on another large boulder. Between these boulders is a large opening.

Jacques ducks in to scout and finds that it is indeed a sloping cavern entrance into the hillsides. The smell of worked metal ore is stronger now. The rest of the party is concealed in the trees.

Jacques messages Thaddeus that he is about to go in. The party follows. Jacques slowly makes his way downward and comes upon a huge spider's web that blocks the entire entrance.

"Sir Edwald of Nyrond. I serve Duke Archendale of Nyrond. I am his chief representative and agent in the Blemu Hills. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. We too have lost companions in the struggle against the lawless evil that inhabits this land. It is good to hear that Count Dunstan wants to re-establish the rule of law in this land. We heard of the miraculous lifting of the siege of Knurl recently. Perhaps he has reached an agreement with Spinecastle?"

He has trouble disguising the distaste in his face.

Mark off 1 minute.

You note that he is middle aged, a bit paunchy, but wears very nice armor. YOu also spot, as daylight is now almost complete, that there is a third hippogriff rider circling far overhead.

You also hear sounds of triumphant shouting and celebration coming from the farm area.

5 minutes pass as you pack up camp (please mark off your spell effects) and move towards the mines/smelter. It is getting even lighter now and you can see about a hundred yards.

10 minutes later you arrive in a copse of trees about 200 yards from the mine entrance.

Thaddeus hears and sees two hippogriff riders approaching. One is Edwald and the other is a female, who keeps her distance and appears to be watching all around.

"Alright, guess we'll talk this out. My advisor tells me that the information you gave us about the Bloody Eye orcs was accurate, so she thinks you may be legitimate. If you are who you say you are, we don't want to quarrel with you. We have a squad watching that mine entrance anyway. The mines go deep into the earth, my gnomes tell me. We think there may be an exit about 3-4 miles away, but we haven't found it yet.

So, you're saying that Count Dunstan wants to reoccupy this land?"

"Split treasure? I don't think so. I'll gladly talk to you after the battle is over, but this is wild country and has been for a long time. The giants and ogres raided our land and took slaves and property from my people and we are here to exact vengeance. My soldiers are paid and expect rich spoils and a last minute arrangement to split the glory and treasure will not be well received. I have no hostility towards you if you are who you say you are and will gladly negotiate with you after this all done. In the meantime, stay out of the way, please."

He apparently spots you now, even in the predawn light, as his eyes lock in your general direction. He nods his head and circles his hippogriff in a tight circle around the camp below, where the sound of fighting is slowing down.

The humans appear real to you.

The message spell works at 300' even with the other factors and spells involved.

The leader is taken aback by the message he receives, but he recovers quickly and replies:

"I am Edwald and our purpose is avenging raids upon our lands by these giants and ogres below. Count Dunstan's lands? His subordinates abandoned them decades ago. This is orc country now."

He looks around and you see him pulling out a potion and drinking it.

Below, Jacques hears more sounds of combat and screaming from within the compound. The crossbowmen have all reloaded now.

Jacques overhears conversation and commands. Their accent is from Nyrond, possibly.

The crossbowmen have a leader, who orders them to reload. There's nothing unsual about him. They appear to be waiting for targets of opportunity. They don't wait long, as an ogre presents itself in the gap in the palisades. The crossbowmen fire a coordinated volley and the ogre goes down screaming in pain, hit by at least a half dozen bolts.

The sounds of combat from within continue.

Thaddeus, flying overhead, notices a hippogriff and rider circling above even him. The rider appears to be human shaped and male, judging from the armor.

Reaping 24, pre-dawn
Jacques and Thaddeus close the distance to the former farm now occupied by the giants. Dawn brings more light, but visibility is still low. Light fog also clings to the ground in spots.

The palisade surrounding the farm has been smashed and one of the buildings inside is on fire.

Jacques closes to within about 100 feet, moving very carefully. He sees a troop of about 20 human soldiers, wearing heavy armor. They are set up just west of the farm and their crossbows are aimed towards a smashed portion of the palisade.

Just north of them, two ballistas are being reloaded by crews of four lightly armored men each. One ballista is smashed and two dead bodies lie next to it.

A dead giant, pincushioned by crossbow bolts and a giant ballista bolt is on the ground near the smashed portion of the palisade.

Inside the compound, you hear bellowing and sounds of combat.

Thaddeus flies overhead and can make out another dead giant on the ground. The barn is on fire. An ogre and three heavily armored men are locked melee combat, but it looks like the ogre will soon go down from multiple wounds.

Inside one of the farm buildings are more sounds of combat, slamming heavy objects and commands being yelled. You can't make out what they're saying.

You don't see any flags or standards. The humans appear to be wearing the same type of armor--banded mail and look like they're all wearing the same color cloak and clothing.

Correction on date:

Reaping 23 morning--after about 8 hours of searching, you find a hidden cave entrance about 300 feet north of the complex. Tracks indicate that a giant and a worg probably exited this cave several days before and did a sloppy job of covering their tracks. The cave entrance itself is secured by a draped moss "blanket" that makes it appear to be part of a rocky outcropping covered with patchy moss.

At dusk, you all see a trio of hippgriff riders fly by at several hundred feet, slightly east of your location. They are too far away to call to and don't seem to notice you.

Just after dark, you spot what is almost certainly a dragon, possibly the black dragon you encountered before, flying overhead, again at fairly high altitude and not paying attention to events on the ground.

Reaping 24 pre-dawn: Your spotter is startled by the flash and roar of a fireball from the giant camp, followed by bellowed shouts of alarm and metal on metal clashes and clanging. A lightning bolt sizzles. In the light's reflection and in the increasing lightness on the horizon, you can spot shadowy figures, man size moving rapidly around the camp. The distinctive twanging of bow strings and the snap of a crossbow is also heard.

To confirm, you all were able to set up the secure shelter spell and are fairly certain you were not observed that night.

The party returns to a different observation point. About a half mile from the giant camp is a low hill with lots of vegetation and a rocky outcropping that make good observation points.

There is sign of previous activity at these outcroppings. Some small animal bones and a discarded, broken dagger, rusted out to worthlessness.
From this point you can observe the former farm and the approach to the smelter.

Reaping 20 morning:
Throughout the night, there was just occasional sounds of distant clicking and "thunk" noises from the smelter. A steady column of vented smoke was disspelled by an early morning rainstorm.

Now it is mid morning. The dripping of the runoff from the trees and thick fern growth is distracting to the watchers.

A duo of giants leaves the farm and walks towards the smelter, about a half mile away.

Reaping 18 near noon

You all finish off the remaining giants and ogres. Total treasure found: 37gp, 45sp, 83cp, there are three giant sized bows of fine make that might fetch about 100gp each to right buyer (but sure would make a good conversation piece or wall art).

You are not too far from Ferin. YOu are in hex 03.14. Do you continue to Ferin, go back to the giant camp? Blow it all off and head for Greyhawk?

Round 1:
Jacques moves as indicated, using cover to move up.

Thaddeus drops down and casts his spells.

The giants and ogres continue to charge towards the other group.

Agathon leads the riders out of the woods to circle around.

Belric stays with the riding group, ready to cast his spell as needed.

FAST FORWARD:
The giants keep on running. Thaddeus catches up with them and scatters another giant with a fear wand.

The mounted party and Agathon can catch the running giants....and Jacques can too....question is...do you want to?

Jacques moves east, into some rock cover to protect him from the rocks.

Thaddeus casts his spell

The bad guys all charge towards the riders, the giants have rocks in their hands.

Agathon sees the bad guys charging as Garsh and Verlik sing out. He orders a retreat into the trees and the remaining group retreats on horseback into the woods, slowed down by the undergrowth and trees.

Decision time. This was just a 1 round post.

Corrected post:

See post above.

Add Ogre #3 shoots at Belric, hitting him for 8 points of damage.
You cant see what ogre #4 is doing.

Go ahead and repost your actions

Round #1

Jacques attacks the giant and inflicts another 9 points of damage. He's still up.
Thaddeus is able to fly up and his fear wand works on both worgs. Both fail their saves.
Giant #1 attacks Jacques, missing.
Giant #4 throws a rock at Agathon, hitting him for 14 points of damage
Giant #3 throws a rock at Garsh, hitting him for 16 points of damage
Ogre #2 shoots his arbalest at Belric, missing him.
Agathon and Verlik swing wide east to avoid rocks, heading for the woods just southeast of them. They estimate they're over a hundred yards from the brutes now.
Belric and Garsh do the same, following Agathon and Verlik. (basically they're all swinging wide to avoid the rocks whle still heading south)

Round 2
Jacques double strikes the giant again, putting him down. His first hit broke the giant's femur and as he went down, Jacques crushes his skull.
Thaddeus changes direction towards the remaining giants now, as the worgs are running off at very high speed.
Giant 3 throws a rock at Belric, but it doesn't reach him.
Giant #4 throws a rock at Thaddeus, missing him, but Thaddeus realizes he's at the edge of their missile range.
Ogre #2 reloads his arbalest

Decision Time (see the map in the shared google doc)

3 rounds of combat posted:

Jacques catches up with the giant and criticals him from behind. While he's unable to stun him, he inflicts a total of 30 points on the brute, while taking 9 points from a glancing blow from the still "feared" giant.

Thaddeus is able to cause two more ogres and giant #2 to flee east bound. He then flies southbound to support Jacques, as he spotted that the worgs broke off to fight the only visible target to them.

The two giants and one ogre unaffected by the fear run for cover near a rocky outcropping and small wood to the south. The giants pick up rocks to prepare them for hurling.

The two worgs break off and sprint off to attack Jacques. They arrive next round.

Belric and Agathon arrive among the giants. Belric's flamestrike kills Giant #2, who was already hurt. Agathon lays into two ogres, killing them both. Verlik and Garsh ready their missile weapons for engaging the giants and ogres that are looking like they want to make a stand.

You are located in hex 05.13 of this map

Blemu Hills near Ferin and Darzog mines detailed map

The giants were headed west towards the river, angling slightly south towards the direction of Ferin.

I'm going to roll the dice myself to avoid confusion. There will be no rerolls of any type; I love the chaos that random dice rolls cause, even if my bad guys suffer.

Order of Initiative: Thaddeus, Jacques, bad guys, Agathon, Belric

Thaddeus misses with his spell.

Jacques falls in behind the giant, running invisibly. Challenge level (CL) 6 DEX check to remain undetected. Rolled a 4+4 = 8 to beat an 18, failure. The running scared giant hears Jacques behind him. He looks over his shoulder and seeing nothing, continues to run.

All the giants and ogres open up on Thaddeus with their missile weapons, arbalests and bows. Two of them hit and the missiles do no damage. The giant leader yells something at the others and from body language it appears that they know that he's protected from their missiles now.

The invisible group gallop trying to stay within 10' of Belric while no one can see each other is a disaster. None of you have enough riding experience (knights) or experience riding invisibly to pull this off. You make this happen, I ruled that you had to make a CL6 CHA check to keep your horses from freaking out AND a CL2 DEX check to maintain your distance without running into each other or accidentally riding outside the circle.

By the time the round is over you all are kind of sort of back within 10' of Belric, but the giants have seen you and certainly hear you. In order to make this work, you're going to have to slow down to no more than normal walking speed.

I've updated the Google docs grid map for this encounter. Check your google docs for an updated map.

Thaddeus approaches the enemy party, in flight and invisible. His detect magic picks up some minor magic auras from the belt pouch of one of the giants, who also appears to be the meanest. No one else appears extraordinary. The giants are at least 20-30 feet apart from each other. The worgs are about 50' ahead of the giants and the ogres trot behind the giants, keeping quiet and also at least 10' apart from each other. Many of them sport tattoos, nose bones, piercings and the typical accoutrements: skull belts, leather pouches of questionable origin, etc.

Jacques wisdom check to hear Thaddeus 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22 to beat a challenge level of 4 (which means he needs to beat a 16). Jacques hears him and they meet and Jacques is filled in on the plan.

Thaddeus is pretty sure he might be able to get two of the giants if he times it right and waits a minute until they get a little sloppy and two of them get too close to each other, one of them the leader.

Giant #1 charisma save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 to beat a 27. Leader succeeds.
Giant #2 charisma save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21 to beat a 27. Flunkie fails.

One of the giants takes off running abject terror. The giants see Thaddues and initiative is 6.

Thaddeus goes on a 14. Jacques is about 50' behind the giants and his initiative is 17.

First round of combat
Jacques moves towards the abandoned farmhouse.

Thaddeus fireballs the leader. He is also able to catch another giant and an ogre in the same blast radius.
Giant dex save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 to beat a 21
Ogre dex save 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 to beat a 21
Giant leader dex save 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25 to beat a 21
Damage roll 9d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 4, 5, 2, 5, 2, 1, 2) = 30

Giants are hurt; ogre is dead.

Ogre leader fires arrow at Thaddeus from his ridiculously large bow. 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19 to hit AC27. He misses. I know he would have caused no damage anyway, but it's important for his decisions.

The five remaining ogres start looking around suspiciously. The one giant that isn't hurt yet looks around as well. made some rolls off screen to see if any of them rolled a 20.

The party starts moving as directed.

So, at the end of the round, one giant is running away at full speed, south bound. Two giants, including the leader, have fireball damage. One ogre is dead.

Important note. This post took me too long to write, it seems. I hit preview a few times to see the results of my die rolls and the results are as indicated in my post. However, the server recalculated the die rolls displayed above at some point during this process, so the results of the die rolls may not match what I said happened. I need to keep this in mind for next time.

Thaddeus, loaded up on spells heads out. He has no clue where Jacques is. Jacques doesn't see him either, since they're both invisible.

Thaddeus has no trouble flying ahead of the giants. They're pretty alert, but he doesn't appear to be detected.

The party heads for the landmark, an abandoned farmhouse.

Jacques has no clue what's about to happen and is continuing to trail the giants

Please remember to post the spell duration/remaining time and your individual character's condition AC, HP, current effects up, etc, as per usual procedure when posting individual character posts.

When posting party actions in a general post, please include only spell effects duration, so I know that someone is keeping track of them. Thank you

Pre dawn, Reaping 21st: Thaddeus is about to awaken Jacques so he can cast invisibility on him and send him off when Belric walks over and advises that Verlik spotted a hunting party of giants and ogres, accompanied by two worgs, leaving the camp and heading west, towards the river. There are four hill giants carrying huge bows and six ogres, with arbalests. All have massive spears and clubs. They moved competently and fairly quietly.

Gulping down a quick cup of water, Jacques receives his invisibility spell and jogs off to get a better direction of travel and to watch them.

The rest of the party tries to get ready as quickly and quietly as possible.

Following the giants isn't hard. Jacques is able to catch up easily and keep up with them, but the rest of the party has to drop about a mile back because without horses, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the giants and maintain silence.

By lunch time, you've come down from the hills and entered the relatively open former farmland and lowland north of Ferin. The river is a couple of miles farther west and the giants will certainly reach it in another hour or so. It's a bit dusty here and there's a greater chance of discovery

Jacques move silent roll 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 vs primary stat of 12, with invisibility bonuses--quite sufficent to stay hidden.

The giants spread out a little as they enter the more open terrain. They unleash the worgs, who go snuffing ahead, very alert, their muzzles in the air and on the ground alternating.

As the party begins to leave the wooded hills on horseback about a mile and a half behind the giants now, Agathon notices the giants up ahead and the dust they kick up.

Evening of Reaping 20th: Jacques returns from the aforementioned scout. During the last two days there has been no apparent scouting or hunting activity from the camp.

My comments about Jacques findings were posted in the comment on the google drawing I posted and shared. Check your email for the link and then view the drawing comments I posted. Thanks.

The giants keep one of their kind sitting on the barn with his bow at all times. After dark, they light a huge bonfire on either side of the camp outside the palisades. The palisades aren't tight enough to keep out anything but large creatures or bigger. During the evening, you all count 7 seperate giants, 4 males and 3 females, plus about a dozen ogres and two worgs. The worgs sniff around the camp a few times, but they are more interested in picking up scraps from the deer that are being roasted on the bonfires. The giants retire to the farmhouses after the bonfires dim, with their guard on the roof and the worgs roaming the grounds.

In the morning you all see that two giants and two ogres leave and walk a few hundred yards east of the farmhouse, where a column of smoke rises from a cavern entrance. You all smell the familiar smell of a smelter in action. There appear to be a couple of orcs on guard duty near the entrance. A closer look by invisible/careful Jacques shows that the orcs are bearing the "Bloody Eye" emblem of the major Bone March tribe.

18 Reaping CY 577: you start tracking north from the camp.

Tracking roll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26 to beat a 12

By mid afternoon you've slogged north through 4 miles of tree covered hills, following the deer trails and passes the giants have been using. You see sign of activity--chopped down trees, a stripped deer carcass, a crude spear lodged in a tree trunk.

As your tracking closes in on their camp, you notice the hills become more grass covered, and a gentle slope to the east shows the outlines of the Harp River about 3-4 miles away, past grassland and farmland gone fallow.

The giants are camped in an old abandoned farm house. The barn has been crudely repaired. A rope is strung from an old windmill tower to the top of the barn, with strips of hide and meat drying in the wind.

You are about 200 feet away, watching the farm house from a copse of trees. Palisades have been lashed in a perimeter around the complex, which consists of three large buildings and the aforementioned barn. There is a hill giant or large ogre keeping watch from the gable of the barn, sitting astride the rotted wood beams with an oversized bow across his lap. He doesn't look too alert.

The sounds of digging and clanking of metal on metal and some shouting and conversation is heard from north of the farmhouse. There is also a column of smoke.

The next day, a drizzling rain and thick fog covers the hills. The party makes slow, but steady progress and at lunch time, a column of thin smoke signals someone nearby.

You guys are able to heal up and rememorize spells if needed.

Jacques and Agathon scout and find a hunter's camp, semi-permanent. Log cabins, tents and a fortified overhang with drying deer carcasses underneath. The hunters appear human and relatively well kept.

The party approaches them and finds about twenty hunters in camp. They all know about the dragon, but don't know where its lair is. They suspect it is on the other side of the river. They will sell you venison at half list price if you want. Half of the hunters look like they're halforcs, probably outcasts from the Bone March tribes. Many of them are teenagers. They look distrustful, but not hostile.

They do know that there is a hill giant family about 4 miles away that has been stalking them on their hunts, trying to steal their deer and smash their heads with rocks. They suspect these hill giants killed two of their troupe a few weeks ago, but never found the bodies.

No longer tactical, but I will tell you how many rounds pass so you can mark off your spell effects

7 rounds pass.

Agathon and Jacques crash through the underbrush, with Thaddeus keeping air cover. Along their run, they recover the surviving henchmen and guide them towards Belric, who is trudging along behind, picking up one of the pack animals along the way.

The dragon steadily gained altitude and disappeared from sight into a low lying cloud layer.

You are still in the hills near the mines. As noted before, you're only about 3-4 miles from the suspected werewolf village (which is east of you). The hills stretch for another 6-8 miles west and then gradually slope down towards the river and the village of Ferin.

Thaddeus casts his fly spell and ends up at about 30' altitude. The sun has just set and dusk is setting in, but you can still see okay for about the next 20 minutes. He is able to see Garsh running full tilt away from the dragon, about 150' off the map to the west.

Jacques takes off running at full speed, running to square B15, which puts him very close and nearly underneath the dragon. "Let her down!" he yells (since he can't attack).

Agathon's shots: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 271d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 One connects for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 damage.

Belric misses.

The dragon bites Idnae 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 and 2d12 ⇒ (8, 6) = 14 swallows her, a severed leg dropping to the ground near Jacques. It flies off, gaining altitude slightly to about 60 feet, chewing and crunching as it goes.

Thaddeus casts his spells and moves as indicated. Edgar is still running and out of sight.

Jacques fires his sling bullet, -4 for range 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 hit damage 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 Idnae is also out of sight, probably still running.

Agathon moves as indicated. Verlik has also left sight, but you all can hear the sounds of running to the west.

Belric casts his sound lance. Dragon's save vs. a 21 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
Takes 18 points of damage.

The dragon shrieks in anger and pain and bolts towards the ground in a sharp dive, westward.

Dragon claw/claw on Idnae vs. AC 10 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 121d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 Damage 1d4 ⇒ 11d4 ⇒ 3
Idnae is still alive, but the party sees the dragon rise back up to about 40' in the air, the gnome screaming and struggling against its claws.

Forgot to roll the extra attacks for Agathon

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

They miss too. Dragon has AC of 21

Thaddeus casts Haste on Agathon.
Jacques uses his 50' foot speed to close with the dragon. He notes it is barely touching the ground with its feet, its wings spread out. He leaps and attacks with this stun attack

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26 to hit AC21. HIT!
Dragon's CON save to avoid being stunned. 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27 to beat a 21. Dragon saves, but still takes 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 damage.
The dragon huffs with an audible intake of air and a bit of shock and admiration in its green eyes.

It is 40' to the dragon for Agathon, with Haste in place he covers the distance and gets his attacks
Great Sword 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17
Dancing Sword 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Both miss.

Belric's spell goes off and everyone now has resistance to the first 20 points of acid damage. Everyone was within 30'.

The dragon takes to the air, ends up in square F11, 40' high in the air. Its shrieking roar echoes off the hillsides.

Thaddeus casts his spell and hands the vial to the unseen servant.
Edgar gathers up the animals.
Jacques readies himself. Idnae moves to the left of Edgar (see map).
Agathon readies himself. Verlik moves next to him.

Troll #1 and #2 move up slowly. Belric fires off his flame strike spell on troll #1 and immediately realizes that something isn't right. The troll doesn't react quite right. Belric and Idnae yell almost simultaneously.

"Illusion!!"

A black dragon appears on the ridge east of you, breathing caustic acid on Verlik and Agathon. Everyone feels intense fear shaking through their bodies. Verlik makes his DEX save, but is severely injured by the acid. He goes down, bu scrambles back up to get away from the dragon as fast as he can (next round).

Agathon's save 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30 means he only takes 15 points of damage from the acid. His CHA save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14 fails and he is shaken for 15 rounds (-2 on all attack, damage, attribute checks, saving throws).

Jacques CHA save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 fails to beat the 27 needed
Belric's CHA save 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21 fails to beat the 27 needed
Thaddeus CHA save 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14 fails to beat the 21 needed

You are all shaken. Idnae, Edgar and Garsh (and all the animals) flee in abject terror--next round

The trolls disappear.

For future posts, your henchmen will go at the same time as you in the initiative order, just to keep it simple.

Initiative order: Thaddeus (Edgar), Jaques (Idnae), Agathon (Verlik), Bad guy(s), Belric (Garsh)

Thaddeus yells at Edgar to bring the animals to him.

Jacques and Idnae position as indicated (see the map in google docs)

Agathon runs up as indicated and Verlik lights a torch.

The troll stops and scans the party. Another one is loping up behind him.

Belric and Garsh complete their actions as indicated.

The google docs map was updated.

17 Reaping CY 577--party sets off on the approximately 20 mile overland trip west to the holding of Ferin, centered around a fishing village. Rain lashes them on the trip, making progress very slow. By nightfall, only a couple of miles seperate them from the mines.

As you are making camp, Jacques and Agathon spot a very large troll loping at the party from the north.

Your campsite was being set up in a copse of dense trees with a small clearing on the inside. Around you is broken terrain with a fairly steep slope down to the west. Trees and bushes give plenty of potential cover, but there are only a few spots dense enough to conceal completely.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 CHA check

Spectacular success! Your plan with the interjection by Jacques works very well and Garin spills the beans.

Mettara and Yurzag are the leaders of their clan, which are mostly refugees from the Bone March and the lands of Knurl that fell under humanoid sway. Many of the men in the group are wanted for petty crimes in various jurisdictions, or had no skill or money to make a living behind the protective walls of one of the nearby cities.

Garin suspects that Mettara and Yurzag and several other men in the group are werewolves. Mettara and Yurzag are not cruel and treat the clan members well, but they are despots and assert their will through force.

The hints about possibly curing the lycanthropy brings "significant looks" from the scavenging party.

Garin says that the clan members would love to stay on this land and become normal citizens again if given a chance. He is not sure about Mettara and Yurzag and their immediate followers, but he knows they don't want to fight unnecessarily.

Your checks of the mines, with Belric's knowledge, reveal that they will need significant work to get them productive again, many having collapsed in numerous places.

A survey of the land reveals much devastation, destroyed farmsteads, spoils of war. It will take a couple of years, maybe longer, to begin settling the land effectively again. The clan of 40-50 refugees you found would be a great boon to kick start that process.

At night, nothing unusual happens. Some wildlife sniffs about.

Leaving the camp behind, the party approaches the abandoned mines. Mining equipment and debris is scattered all around the entrances. As you check the exterior for signs of intruders, three men wearing studded leather armor, heavy crossbows, battleaxes and torches emerge from one of the mine shafts.

A brief discussion with them reveals that they are from the same camp and searching the mines for scavengable items.

One of them, Garin, seems a bit more approachable and reveals that the camp's leader's name is Yurzag and that many of them are reformed bandits and outlaws who sought a new life away from strife so their children might be able to grow up. He admits they've had mixed results.

Upon hearing that Belric is the new appointed lord of the land, Garin states that he and the others will talk to Yurzag and discuss the implications. Garin says that they figured this day was inevitable, especially after hearing of the defeat dealt to the Bone March forces in the siege of Knurl.

When Belric reveals himself, the guards ready their longbows (not drawing them yet) and call for someone named "Mettara!"

You note that two of the wolves disappear into the woods at the back of the camp, while another two take up flanking positions and seek cover near some of the huts.

The women hustle the kids into the huts, while several of them also position themselves near bows leaning against some of the huts.

"Mettara" arrives within a few seconds. He's a burly man wearing leather armor and carrying a massive club. He stands off about 50 feet and listens to Belric's claims of being their liege lord.

"I don't know what mushrooms you've been eating dwarf, but this is our land. The Count of Knurl hasn't been this way in many years and we've settled this land now. We hunt and fish and raise our children here. We want no trouble with anyone. We want to be left alone."

You track the wolves for a few hundred yards before the trail goes cold, but it leads in the general direction of the abandoned mines in the area. Moving with caution, the party approaches a clearing that has paths leading up to the mines leading from it. Crude wooden huts and tents dot the clearing. From about 100 yards away and concealed among the fern and trees, you can see that there are a couple of longbow armed humans on guard duty and there are children playing and women and older men working among the huts and tents. There are chickens, deer carcasses and a about a half dozen very large wolves scattered about. The wolves are releaxed but several of them sniff the air at times.

These folks are on your land.

The rest of the night is uneventful. Distant howling keeps you on edge, but you are not attacked further.

The wolfman's halberd is a +1 magical weapon, upon further evaluation.

A party post about how you all want to proceed is what's needed.

Don't make it too complex.

Agathon attacks the possible werewolf and his dancing sword and battleaxe hit. The creature gives forth an ungodly howl and drops to the ground, unmoving. Verlik misses. Jacques takes his action.

The remaining wolves flee the fight, bounding into darkness, yelping.

I made a mistake. Belric did not get hit. I was looking at the wrong PC sheet for his AC.

Agathon continues to move into the fight, making a lot of noise along the way. [ooc]Dex check 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19 to run at full speed in the dark. He arrives at the melee at the end of this round.

Verlik attacks wolf #2 with his heavy mace 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Edgar hangs back with Thaddeus, obviously very apprehensive about the whole concept of battle in the dark forests. He has a death grip on his staff.

Garsh continues to jog up in a battlefield strut, his heavy crossbow loaded and his battleaxe loose in its frog on his back.

Jacques stays ahead of Thaddeus. 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 for wisdom check to spot hidden threats. He spots nothing unusual

Wolf #1 attacks Belric 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 Belric takes 6 pts of damage
Wolf #2 attacks Belric 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Wolf #3 attacks Verlik 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
A previously unseen wolf creature, a bipedal thing with a wolf's head and lots of fur appears on Agathon's side and arc swings a massive halberd at him 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Thaddeus jogs on. At the end of the round he can hear Belric up ahead and casts message on Belric and Agathon.

Belric's attack hits wolf#1. The creature yelps in pain, as the attack slices open an impressive wound.

So, at the end of the round, Thaddeus, Jacques, Edgar and Garsh are still a round out, but can hear the battle through the trees up ahead, probably about 70 feet away.

Agathon is in melee with a wolf man wielding a halberd. Belric and Verlik are next to each other fighting three wolves, about 30 feet from Agathon. The terrain is rough mixed forest hills. There is plenty of available terrain and foliage cover.

Initiative order now: Agathon, Verlik, the henchmen (I roll all their initiatives at once to keep it less complex), Jacques, Wolves, Thaddeus and Belric.

Agathon moves through the forested hills at as much of a rapid pace as he can manage. He is is 04.07 at the end of this round.

Verlik attacks a wolf with his mace, missing. The rest of the henchmen are in square 03.06, moving up at a combat ready trot.

The three wolves

Thaddeus and Jacques move up as well. It's too dark and the terrain too rough to see Belric and Verlik.

Wolf #1 attacks Belric, missing. Wolf #2 attacks Verlik, missing.

Wolf #3 is obviously alerted to the presence of more incoming opponents and moves away to the northwest about 30 feet, sniffing and giving forth a series of rapid piercing yips.

Belric misses.