DM Rostam's page

I am sorry for the delayed message, been trying to login for a week and am only now able to.

I am also sorry that I can no longer DM for you. I wish I could live up to the promise of coming back, I truly enjoyed running it, but with the time away I've had a chance to review many things and gaming is something I need to cut back on for my mental health.

Interacting with all of you, and creating this story was amazing and a wonderful experience. But in many things in my life I had far too high expectations on myself and spending 60-90 minutes everyday running online campaigns was taking a toll on me on top of other things. Unfortunately for now I need to fully step away.

Leaving this behind is hard, due to all the joy you've helped add to my life.

If you ever want to talk feel free to reach out to me at connor.mckay@ymail.com and we can find a more convenient way to get in touch. If you need support or someone to listen while you are going through something I am more than willing to help as well.

I dont know how to properly sign off on a post like this, but just know that I am greatful to have known you all and sorry for leaving like this.

All the best, DM Rostam

Rhavi congratulations on getting married!

I am sorry for the delayed message, been trying to login for a week and am only now able to.

I am also sorry that I can no longer DM for you. I wish I could live up to the promise of coming back, and seeing all the post bumps shows how great a group this was and I truly enjoyed running it, but with the time away I've had a chance to review many things and gaming is something I need to cut back on for my mental health.

Interacting with all of you, and creating this story was amazing and a wonderful experience. But in many things in my life I had far too high expectations on myself and spending 60-90 minutes everyday running online campaigns was taking a toll on me on top of other things. Unfortunately for now I need to fully step away.

Leaving this behind is hard, due to all the joy you've helped add to my life.

If you ever want to talk feel free to reach out to me at connor.mckay@ymail.com and we can find a more convenient way to get in touch. If you need support or someone to listen while you are going through something I am more than willing to help as well.

I dont know how to properly sign off on a post like this, but just know that I am greatful to have known you all and sorry for leaving like this.

All the best, DM Rostam

Thank you for your support, and I will be in need of it again.

This is not how I wanted to leave the game hanging (I will return) but over the weekend my grandmother passed away. I am leaving early to fly out and visit family and hopefully attend the funeral depending on the time frame.

I have no energy right now to make a pleasant wrap up post. I know that you all are going to be okay with that, but I wish things had gone better over the last two weeks so that I could close this out on a better note. You all deserved at least that.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer, I am sure I will once I have had time to settle my mind. You will all be in my thoughts, or at least your characters antics will be. Turning over what is happening in game in my mind is a great past time.

With great fondness, DM Rostam.

Thank you all for your support, and I will be in need of it again.

This is not how I wanted to leave the game hanging (I will return) but over the weekend my grandmother passed away. I am leaving early to fly out and visit family and hopefully attend the funeral depending on the time frame.

I have no energy right now to make a pleasant wrap up post. I know that you all are going to be okay with that, but I wish things had gone better over the last two weeks so that I could close this out on a better note. You all deserved at least that.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer, I am sure I will once I have had time to settle my mind. You will all be in my thoughts, or at least your characters antics will be. Turning over what is happening in game in my mind is a great past time.

With great fondness, DM Rostam.

I am really sorry for the delay, and will try to get a 'final' post up next week. I injured my lower leg early this week and have been working closely with a physiotherapist and doing a bunch of extra exercises and stuff to rehab it before my trip, so I have been a bit distracted and overwhelmed at the moment.

Wanted to let you guys know.

I am really sorry for the delay, and will try to get a 'final' post up next week. I injured my lower leg early this week and have been working closely with a physiotherapist and doing a bunch of extra exercises and stuff to rehab it before my trip, so I have been a bit distracted and overwhelmed at the moment.

Wanted to let you guys know.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

@Elyas - looks like I forgot to write it in, but its DC 10 fort save with a penalty equal to WP below threshold. A pass and you stabilize, failure you lose a WP.

@Charles - yep, 5 foot step is allowed

@Lajara - yep, I'll use the last roll.

As Halk hits Elyas, Lajara sticks her blade between his ribs. Charles and Carthas take the opening hitting him with blade and bomb. The korred wheezes out a few mumbled last words that no one can understand and sinks into his throne, slain.

"It's finally mine!" Dearga cackles as she swoops down and grabs Halk's club. "The Korrigan Club is mine! I am first drinker and the fey shall obey!"

Round 5 - Dearga, Bristle Billie (-65), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 3), Charles(slowed 3), Carthas(slowed 3)
Round 6 - Dearga, Bristle Billie (-65), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 2), Charles(slowed 2), Carthas(slowed 2)

:: Sarenith 7 - Late Morning - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

With the Stag Lord's body dealt with and a great deal to do, you spend the rest of the day planning, preparing, and fixing any gear that needs it. You quickly setup the fort to be defendable by four people, but you heed the warnings you've received previously to stay off the slopes.

The rest of the day passes quickly.

.

:: Sarenith 8 and 9 - Around the Fort ::

Gird departs early in the morning to scout out the orc camp, a steady down pour of rain going on all day. While the fort is enough to keep the rain off the rest of you it is not a cheery location.

In the late afternoon the next day, Gird returns with good news. The orc camp is a smoldering mess. The group looks to have fractured, a dozen dead orcs at the camp and seven or eight sets of foot prints leaving in different directions and at different speeds. The orcs would be no worse than normal now that the band as broken up.

.

:: Sarenith 10 through 20 - Around the Fort ::

With the threat of the orcs seemingly gone, Gird sets out to get a message to Oleg's while the rest of you scout the area and keep the fort secure.

Over the eleven days Gird is gone, the four of you clean out the fort, and scout the area around it.

On the evening of Sarenith 20, Gird returns, with Keston and Denton and their retinues in tow.

"It is good to see the old fort in good hands and not with the Stag Lord." Keston says in greeting.

Gird also lets you know that Oleg's has received a message from Akiros saying that four bandits have found him to repent and have joined his band at the Temple.

In the time Gird was away you can also have cleared the hill side of the undead, but if you'd like to keep the undead security feature that's cool too.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

Elyas force sword strikes true again as Elyas struggles to hit while dealing with Halk's hair.

Lajara, Carthas and Charles move over towards Halk.

"It's about time you got over here!" Dearga says angrily as she swoops over to attack Halk. Derga attacks wildly, missing him by a foot or so.

Dearga vs Halk: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Damage: 2d4 + 11 ⇒ (1, 3) + 11 = 15

With Bristle Billie out of sight, Halk glares at Elyas. "Time to put ye down laddie!" Halk bludgeons Elyas with his club twice in a row, laughing gleefully as the blows land. Elyas takes 26 damage total, and I believe is down to 4 wound.

Halk vs Elyas, w/ raging song: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 14 + 1 = 32
Damage: 1d4 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 10 + 1 = 13
Halk vs Elyas, w/ raging song: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 9 + 1 = 28
Damage: 1d4 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 10 + 1 = 13

Elyas Fort Save to remain conscious, DC 10, -10 penalty: 1d20 + 7 - 10 ⇒ (7) + 7 - 10 = 4

Elyas falls to the ground unconscious as Halk laughs. "Yer all next! Traitors and cowards all!"

Round 4 - Dearga, Bristle Billie (-65), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 4), Charles(slowed 4), Carthas(slowed 4), Halk (-35)
Round 5 - Dearga, Bristle Billie (-65), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 3), Charles(slowed 3), Carthas(slowed 3), Halk (-35)

You are all up again. Elyas needs to make a save to stabilize.

Yeah if you get an AoO or something you can keep it.

@Lajara, remember you're slowed so you'd only be able to move over to Halk.

I will update Sunday or Monday, my weekend if full. It will be a larger post as well since I can take your longer term plan and work through it in one go.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

Elyas' spiritual weapon strikes home against the still blind Halk, while his corporeal blade slashes the korred in front of him, nearly killing it.

Lajara scores a hit against Bristle Billie after he casts his spell to slow everyone.

Charles begins moving back towards Halk as Carthas fires a shot at Bristle Billie, missing due to his slowed movements.

Dearga finishes off the last of Halk's minions before shouting. "It's about time you got over here to help!"

Dearga vs Pink: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
Damage: 2d4 + 11 ⇒ (2, 1) + 11 = 14

"Ahaha, I can see you now!" Halk shouts. Halk's hair wreathes forward around Elyas entangling him before Halk begins to bludgeon Elyas with his club. With the hair restraining Elyas movement, both blows rain down upon him. Elyas takes 29 damage.

Elyas Reflex vs hair DC 16: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Halk vs Elyas (AC-2), Ranging Song: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 14 + 1 = 17
Damage vs raging song, powerful blow: 1d4 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 16
Halk vs Elyas(AC-2), Ranging Song: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 = 17
Damage vs raging song: 1d4 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 10 + 1 = 13

"Surrend and I'll let ye all live! If you dance well enough for me ya can go free!" Halk shouts drunkenly after seeing how easy it was to hit Elyas. "Dearga ye best be getting lost or start helping me!"

Bristle Billie looks at Lajara with anger deep in his eyes, "Now I really be needing to teach you a lesson!" He chants quickly, then..... winks out of existence. Both Lajara and Carthas focus for a moment and think they hear Bristle Billie running away down the hall. Lajara strikes as he goes past but misses.

Lajara Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Charthas Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Lajara Miss Chance (1-50 miss): 1d100 ⇒ 79
Lajara AoO vs Bristle Billie: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 11 + 1 = 15
Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Round 3 - Elyas, Lajara (slowed 5), Charles(slowed 5), Carthas(slowed 5), Halk (-30)
Round 4 - Dearga, Bristle Billie (-65), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 4), Charles(slowed 4), Carthas(slowed 4), Halk (-30)

@Lajara, can you update your stat line to be similar to the others. That way I can more easily reference HP/saves/etc. Thanks.

Everyone is up.

Let me know if you have ay questions. I am waiting for what you'd like to do but no rush.

Gird is functional enough to act as a messenger, scout something out, or watch the fort.

So far it looks like the ideas are generally, figure out what's up with the orcs, figure out the best way to man the fort, figure out how to venture to the remaining two areas to explore.

Yes, the blue dot labelled Gold Mine has a number of Kazmuk's kin setting up there, if I remember correctly.
The white X was a current location marker at one point, the red line is the path the group took to get here.
Red circles are places where major encounters have happened or significant land marks. Blue dots/circles are friendly locations the group has allies. Bokken's hut should be a blue dot as well.
The large red circle area is the expected location of a small orc encampment. Which is either still a problem or its quit the area by now.
The Skunk river enters the lake to the west of the Fort, the other two are the Shrike (right most river) the the Thorn River (center river)
The water to the south is a large lake.

.

For people that can help, Denton and Keston Garess are both at Oleg's with 4 and 3 men respectively. Akiros has 3 men, and 3 bandits that surrendered are headed either towards Oleg's or the forest to escape you. The Sootscales could also be contacted. Kazmuk's kin are likely too busy setting up the gold mine and guarding it to be able to spare anyone.

You could try cross the Shrike at Nettle's Crossing though it is currently only a thick rope that probably can't hold more than one person at a time. Otherwise you'd be headed all the way up north to Fort Serenko or something to try and find a boat.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

Stuck between rushing Halk on his own or turning to defend the rear, Elyas moves to help protect the group from Halk while they deal with the new threat from behind.

Everyone else turns in concert and rains pain down upon the newcomer to the fight. Carthas' bomb and both Charles' and Lajara's strikes are devastating. The korred looks beathen up but still has some life left in him.

"Disturb Bristle Billie will ye!" the new comer scream through the pain, "I'll teach ya!"

The korred steps back then points and chants. Charles, Carthas, and Lajara feel their limbs become lethargic, their energy sapped. Elyas feels the spell wash over him and does not succumb. Charles, Carthas, and Lajara are all affected by the slow spell for 5 rounds. Slow

Carthas Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Charles Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Elyas Will: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Lajara Will: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Halk continues to chant, while Dearga attacks the other korred, landing another blow. The korred does retaliate but misses, seemingly put off by how much nothing his last blow did.

Dearga vs Pink: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16
Damage: 2d4 + 11 ⇒ (4, 3) + 11 = 18

Pink vs Dearga, entangled: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 8 - 2 = 16
Damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Dearga looks over at you, seeming enraged "I did not come here to kill Halk alone!"

Halk laughs and replies during a break in his chant, "No Dearga! You came here to die along with these weaklings!"

Round 3 - Dearga, Pink (entangled 1, -23), Bristle Billie (-50), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 5), Charles(slowed 5), Carthas(slowed 5), Halk (-20)
Round 4 - Dearga, Pink (-23), Bristle Billie (-50), Elyas, Lajara (slowed 4), Charles(slowed 4), Carthas(slowed 4), Halk (-20)

You're all up again.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

Carthas hurls a bomb at the foremost korred, and it shatters on the creatures chest slaying it in a gout of flame.

Flying Dearga darts over and attacks the last of Halk's minions that are in the throne room and hits him as the korred fumbles to defend himself while entangled in Carthas' bomb.

The entangled korred struggles but swings at Dearga with his club. The hit lands solidly but Dearga just howls in laughter and doesn't seem affected.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Dearga vs Pink: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Damage: 2d4 + 11 ⇒ (1, 3) + 11 = 15

Pink vs Dearga, entangled: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 - 2 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

You suddenly hear the hammering stop behind you, and the door bursts open. "Yav gatta stap tha noise! Gert outta hear!" An enraged looking korred bulls his way through the doorway and over to Carthas, swinging a giant wrench at him. The korred is covered in knotted muscles and seems envigored like the others were upon hearing Halk's singing. The wrench comes down on Carthas' shoulder from behind, everyone can hear a sickening crunch. Carthas takes 14 damage.

Bristle Billie vs Carthas, raging song: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 13 + 1 = 32
Damage: 1d6 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 1 = 14

Round 2 - Dearga, Pink (entangled 2,-10), Bristle Billie, Elyas, Lajara, Charles, Carthas, Halk (blinded 1,-20)
Round 3 - Dearga, Pink (entangled 1, -10), Bristle Billie, Elyas, Lajara, Charles, Carthas, Halk (blinded 1,-20)

Everyone is up.

I should note that with the Stag Lord's defeat you have overcome the main terror in the region, but The Charter was to explore a specific area of land. Specifically, The Charter will be completed when all the area that is blacked out inside of the red box in the exploration map is fully explored.

Stag Lord's Helm is magic, I just keep forgetting. I pasted an image of its abilities in the combat map.

:: Sarenith 7 - Late Morning - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

Andreas, Rillka, and Rhavi head out while Gird and Kazmuk remain to guard the fort. The gate swings easily enough for the due to open and close on their own and it is easy to set a weight on the opening to the tunnel to ensure no one can use it.

Rillka, Rhavi, and Andreas canter eastward toward the river mouth. Upon arriving, you find a spot that is easy enough to drag the bodies down to the water at, and lay them to rest in the water.

Stepping back from the waters edge you see the water still for a moment, then a grotesque rotting body lurches forward, standing on the water looking at the trio. Its eyes flare red for a moment as it stoops down to grab both the Stag Lord and The Old Man by the face, and then drags them under.

As the river calms again, a ranseur, a ring, and a belt float to the edge of the water. All items that the undead had worn.

It is a short ride back to the fort where everything is well under control.

It is a +1 ranseur, a +1 ring of protection, and a +2 belt of strength. I have added them to the loot sheet.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

No problem Charles, hopefully everyone is feeling better!

Elyas summons a weapon and begins to assault Halk, landing a blow on him.

The nearest korred's hair writhes forward around Charles. The hair wraps around Charles arms and slaps at his face, entangling him. With its hair holding him in place, the korred pulls out a club and strikes at Charles with a solid blow, aided by the hair. Charles is entangled and takes 8 damage.

Charles Reflex Save DC 16: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Yellow vs Charles: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Charles and Lajara follow up quickly, both landing serious blows on the korred and bloodying it.

Halk roars in anger before beginning to sign in a gravelly voice. The korreds in the room laugh and grin, their movements looking stronger and their bodies healthier.

Round 1 - Dearga, Pink (entangled 3), Elyas, Yellow, Lajara, Charles, Halk (blinded 2,-20), Carthas
Round 2 - Dearga, Pink (entangled 2), Yellow (-22), Elyas, Lajara, Charles, Carthas, Halk (blinded 1,-20)

Carthas is up, next round we get to alternating initiative.

Loot sheet is updated. I lumped some stuff together like all the jewelry and gemstones to make it easier to put on there. If you want a specific item that was put into a combined item them add it to the list, note its gold value in brackets, and subtract the value from the combined item.

Once everyone else gets a post up I will move things ahead, just want to see who is going to head out with Andreas

Your horse is present but the bandits don't have any others. Probably fed them to the owlbear.

I did forget to add all that to the loot sheet. I will do it later today.

The book does hint that wealth will help with kingdom building, but I don't think that there's any real direct benefit from any of it other than being a start up fund.

:: Sarenith 6 - Evening - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

The Old Man dies quietly, ready for his end. The group looks around the cellar to see what is down here.

A large amount of stolen wealth can be found in these three rooms—the bandits have been stockpiling their ill-gotten goods for months. The majority of the wealth kept here consists of mundane trade goods like pelts, furs, tobacco, iron, bronze, miscellaneous weapons and armor (none masterwork or magic), and miscellaneous adventuring gear and tools worth a combined total of 6,850 gp. In addition, one chest in area the center alcve contains 4,500 cp, 2,052 sp, 894 gp, and 21 pp, while a large bag in the alcove furthest from the Old Man's nest contains 2,900 gp in various pieces of stolen jewelry.

There is 149.34 lbs of coins alone. The trade goods and adventuring gear would need a wagon to move it all.

Going back through the rest of the fort you find:

In the armoury:
10 longbows, 260 arrows, 5 short swords,
5 spears, four 50-foot lengths of hemp rope, a set of
chisels, 2 hammers, 3 tins of iron nails, and 4 suits of
leather armor.

Stag Lords bedroom:
141 gp, a polished azurite
crystal worth 9 gp, a carnelian worth 80 gp, a piece of
hematite worth 13 gp, a shard of obsidian worth 14 gp, a
red garnet worth 100 gp, a pewter belt buckle depicting a
pair of entwined succubi worth 30 gp, and a silver charm
bracelet worth 60 gp.

Stag Lord's body:
+1 leather armor, masterwork longsword, +1 composite longbow (+2
Str) with 20 arrows, amulet of natural armor +1, stag’s helm

Miscelaneous places:
4 long bows, 80 arrows, 4 longswords, 4 sets of leather armour.

You see no sign of Dovan in the fort. You setup some watches for the night and rest.

.

:: Sarenith 7 - Morning - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

The storm dissipates in the early morning, and the day dawns overcast and calm.

Figured it would be easiest to move to the next day so that any plans you come up with can happen immediately. Also, have fun being fabulously rich now.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

Was hoping Charles would post, but I need to keep the game moving.

Lajara rushes in a strikes a korred in the back with a strong blow, though its not as effective as against a regular human.

Carthas and Elyas fill the room with magic. Carthas manages to entangle one of the korred's with his bomb, while Elyas blinds and damages Halk.

Charles moves forward and slashes at the same korred Lajara hit. His blow lands, less effective than normal, but nearly kills the creature.

Dearga flies forward between Charles and Lajara, screaming "Halk! Your time has come! This fort will be mine!" She strikes the same korred Charles and Lajara have, cleaving its head from its shoulders.

The korreds have DR5

Pink Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Yellow Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Cyan Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Halk Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Blinded: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Charles init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Pink init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Yellow init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Cyan init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Halk init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Elyas Caster Check vs Halk Spell Resistance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Charles Silver Longsword: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Charles Silver Longsword crit?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Damage crit?: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Dearga vs Cyan: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18
Damage: 2d4 + 11 ⇒ (4, 3) + 11 = 18

Dearga Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

The korred entangled by Carthas bomb steps back, trying to get the glue off of him.

Round 1 - Dearga, Pink (entangled), Elyas, Yellow, Lajara, Charles, Halk (blinded 2,-12), Carthas
Round 2 - Dearga, Pink, Yellow, Elyas, Lajara, Charles, Carthas, Halk

Everyone is up except Carthas. I will slot yellow in as appropriate but Halk is too important to skip over. Note the round 2 difference in initiative order to smooth things out.

:: Sarenith 6 - Evening - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

The Old Man coughs up some more blood. "I won't be needing no healing. Just came down here to die." The Old Man looks at Kazmuk, "And I'd try to kill ya again if it came to it. Better than having him beat me. Not that I wouldn't hit him if I could, he just out grew me."

"And yes, I was the badger. Now either kill me or leave me to die." The Old Man is growing steadily more pale and coughing more with each moment.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

"Well then, lead the way!" Dearga says, gesturing to the stairs.

Lajara and Charles head down first, Carthas and Elyas following behind with Dearga flying at the rear. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, Lajara can see in the 'throne room' and it looks like the spriggans have left, and there only Halk and three or four other korreds. Across the hall from the throne room you can still hear the sound of a hammer working repeatedly.

Everyone can take a full rounds worth of actions as a surprise round, also roll initiative. Halk is the korred on the throne with the giant amount of hair.

Yeah the site was being pretty annoying a couple weeks ago. Post is up, make sure you are levelled!

:: Sarenith 6 - Evening - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

With everyone conscious and healed, the group heads back down to the cellar. Looking down into it, the room is miserably damp, with water running and dripping into it. Swaths of mold cover the stone walls a the 15 foot high ceiling is full of cobwebs.

There are three arches that open into alcoves. Two has piles of wealth in the form of trade goods, adventuring gear, a large chest and a large bag.

The third alcove has what appears to be a nest made of scraps of leather, rope, and fur. In the nest an old man lies with his chest heaving, many cuts and injuries evident across his body.

As you descend into the cellar the old man looks up and you, his face strained and his voice weak. "So... so you've managed to down the beast I whelped. Good riddance." The old man coughs violently, blood coming out though none of his injuries look that severe.

If anyone is interested I will be sharing videos of the hike on YouTube and can send you a link to my channel. If you want the link I can send it to you.

Haha yeah, I've got coworkers that started in the pandemic and then left and I never saw them since I'm WFH. You build up a mental image and those that I have met are always very different than I pictured.

So it sounds like waiting is the way to go. I am away next week but once I get back we can wrap up the exploration of the fort and the charter area.

For those interested here is the YouTube link: Where We Roam

My wife and I are planning on getting PCT videos posted starting in early May once we are on trail for a couple weeks. If you are interested in the Canadian Rockies we have two play lists from the last two summers there as well.

Thanks for the support guys.

Rhavi, I will try to remember to post in here occasionally with an update. If you'd like to follow along I can give you a link to my and my wife's YouTube channel. We are going to post videos as we go.

We are definitely hoping to meet a bunch of cool people on the trail as well, one of the reasons we picked it over some other long distance trails is that the trail culture seems pretty cool and people come from all over to backpack it.

Thank you for the support guys, as for posting here to keep the game live we can work out what we want to do closer to April.

I am actually going on vacation starting Friday, I thought it was the week after. I will move the game ahead when I am back on the 28, just let me know what you want to do.

Also, I will need to take a leave of absence here from April 1 to until the end of October. My wife and I have managed to get everything we need together to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and we are going to take the opportunity to do that. I know that that is a long break and wanted to get your opinion on what you would like to do. I personally would prefer to put the game on hold and then resume it, with the intent of finishing up exploring the area your charter is for before I go.

I know that for some of you this is likely to be a big deal given your past DM issues, but I hope that over the last 3+ years (I also can't believe its been that long!) you've enjoyed the game and are willing to work through this.

If you would like to find another GM I will help facilitate that. The other thing we could try is to get the group to a point where setting up your kingdom makes sense and you could work on that while I am gone.

Let me know your thoughts.

I am actually going on vacation starting Friday, I thought it was the week after. I will move the game ahead when I am back on the 28, just let me know what you want to do.

Also, I will need to take a leave of absence here from April 1 to until the end of October. My wife and I have managed to get everything we need together to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and we are going to take the opportunity to do that. I know that that is a long break and wanted to get your opinion on what you would like to do. I personally would prefer to put the game on hold and then resume it, with the intent of getting through clearing this fort before I leave. I am also open to finding you another GM to run the game for you if you would prefer. Let me know your thoughts.

Can everyone let me know when you've levelled your character to level 6, then I will move on.

Also, do you want to go right back down stairs or explore up stairs a bit?

The only threats that you think might still be around are the old man and the badger.

You get the extra slots/hp now.

You did not see where it went, it could have crept away stealthily or disappeared.

Having invited Dearga over to help, you are now all level 6.

Hopefully the site works today.

:: Neth 1 - Morning - Fort Ristin::

The group climbs up the stairs, coming to a room with a large table in it and other doors leading off to the sides. On the western wall the wind blows in through the open doors to the balcony.

Moving forward slowly, the group gets to the balcony and signal to Dearga to fly over. You see her quickly cast her spell and she arrives in a couple moments.

"So is it time to deal with Halk?" Dearga asks.

Link

That's a link to the recruitment thread I ran last for this game. Otherwise level up would be per regular pathfinder levelling.

Welcome to level 4 everyone. Good job on sneaking the kill in there.

I will get a post up this weekend. The site has been eating my posts all week and its getting depressing at this point.

:: Sarenith 6 - Evening - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

After his last attack, the Stag Lord left himself open and Rhavi stepped forward and took advantage. Rhavi's blade snakes forward and she feels it slide between his ribs beside his sternum. The Stag Lord lets out a hollow gasp for air eyes bright with rage before winking out. The body slides of Rhavi's blade and slumps to the ground.

.

Rillka and Andreas can see a faint glimmer above each other's bodies, noting each others presence. Suddenly a great howl on anguish washes over them as a dark shadow rises from the Stag Lords body and rips its way through the sky.

.

Kazmuk and Rhavi stand in the middle of a blood bath, the Stag Lord and numerous other bandits slain, their allies unconscious around them, and the badger no where in sight. The rain does begin to lessen as as they catch their breath.

Haha sorry for the delay. Wednesday blew up on me then the site was down yesterday.

With Andreas making his stabilization check all you need now is a successful hit!

:: Sarenith 6 - Evening - Assault on the Stag Lord's Fort ::

Kazmuk and Rhavi continue their assault, the rain, fatigue, and the Stag Lord thwarting their attempts to strike. The Stag Lord has a gleam in his eye after blocking your attacks and manages a clean thrust at Kazmuk, but bounces off Rhavi's armour. Kazmuk takes 10 damage.

Stag Lord vs Kazmuk: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 2 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Stag Lord vs Rhavi: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 + 2 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10

Andreas DC 10 con: 1d20 + 2 - 11 ⇒ (19) + 2 - 11 = 10

Hearty as ever, Andreas stabilizes amidst the chaos and rain.

Stag Lord (-57), Badger (-19), Andreas (-11/14), Rillka (-8/12)

Let's go team!