Savage Tide Glories (opposite of the Obituaries thread)

[ReganFriend]

Here There Be Monsters, the Sabotaged Lift

The party, Maenad Psychic Warrior 6, Human Warlock 6, Gnome Druid 6 (Urol Forol, PC-ized), Human Warblade 6, and Sahuagin Monstrous Humanoid 2 / Barbarian 3, along with Captain Amelia, Tavey, Avner, and Thunderstrike, comes to the rickety-looking lift. But for the Warblade, they don't like the looks of it, and decide to let the Warlock fly everyone up with that Invocation that lets him fly all day. But there's the problem of the horse. Some quick calculations reveal that the Warlock can't carry a heavy warhorse while flying. The Warblade makes repeated attempts to convince everyone that they should just use the lift, but to no avail. The plan agreed upon is to fly some NPCs (including Avner) up first, then tie the horse to the Sahuagin barbarian upon whom Urol has cast bull's strength, who will then climb up the cliffside to the higher level. Recognizing the difficulties of climbing up the cliffside with a panicking heavy warhorse strapped to his back, the Sahuagin initiated this conversation:

Barbarian: It's gonna be too hard to climb up with the horse panicking.
Warlock: Somebody's gotta knock out the horse.
Barbarian: I'll do it.

Then a far-more-dramatic-than-expected grapple battle between the Barbarian and Thunderstrike took place, with multiple escapes and re-grapplings, which resulted in Thunderstrike, having taken substantial subdual damage, fleeing down the pathway away from the party. The Warlock got one shot off with Eldritch Spear, doing enough damage to knock the horse out. Urol rushed to stabilize him and he was strapped to the back of the Sahuagin.

He then began to climb, with Urol waiting below in case the barbarian fell (with a heavy warhorse strapped to his back). He, of course, fell on his last roll, tumbling to the lower level and dealing falling damage to Thunderstrike to take him to -8. Urol was quick on the cure, and the Sahuagin decided to rage to get up the hill, which put him off RNG (i.e., no chance to fall) and he got up.

The Warblade, whose player was sitting with a "Really? Really?" look on her face throughout this whole episode, then uses the lift to get up. And it works, because she's only one medium-sized creature! Another dialogue:

Warblade: Why, again, didn't we just take the lift?
Sahuagin: Because that didn't involve me trying to strangle a horse.

EL 6 encounter passed -- and it leveled everyone to seven!

[Charlie Bell]

ReganFriend wrote:

the Sabotaged Lift ... Thunderstrike

And that's where Thunderstrike was carted off to the metaphorical glue factory in my STAP campaign.

[NPC Dave]

PC: Modified 6th level Paladin of Freedom using 3.5 rules and PHB2's Charging Smite
Adventure: Sea Wyvern's Wake
Location of Glory: Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan

As the party investigates the stone scale replica of an ancient city and Tloquatcha's crypt, Sutolore hears them from the adjacent room and moves into position to attack. He flies into the room low to the ground, breathes fire catching every PC and Forol in the cone. He then banks to the right and gains a bit of altitude for next round.

The paladin is the first to react, charging straight at the abyssal creature and makes a charging smite attack with his magic warhammer. He rolls a 20. To confirm the crit, he rolls another 20. Adding up all the critical damage including all the smite damage x3...Sutolore takes 67 hp of damage after subtracting DR. One shot and instant explosion, this time only half the party was in range to take further fire damage.

[Brett DM]

Hats off to Manuel the Olman Archer who after getting jumped on by a biting savage monkey, thought to grapple the tiny thing. It was a effective, albeit slow, way to stop them by pinning them.

But the true glory is to Javarel the Duskling Totemist who happened to have formed Gorillion Arms, so he had enough attacks to start the grapple, and do another to toss the beasties over the cliff before they escaped. Of course those 1d4+2 non-magic extra attacks were not so good against the savage pirates.

[Hagor]

Adventure: Tides of Dread - Crimson Fleet attack. There were several memorable moments from all PCs, but these are the truly glorious ones:

Setting:
Attack on Farshore is in full swing. The pirates are slowly but surely being repelled, the vrocks have been almost defeated.
Vanthus, V'Sesslin + 2 bodyguards have appeared in the little wooded area near the temple (via dimension door).

1) While Vanthus is talking/trying to dominate his sister, Ra, the halfling druid (in deinonychus form) is sneaking up on V'Sesslin & pounces him. One crit later (using Paizo's critical hit deck), the yuanti suffers an insane amount of bleed damage & decides to retreat back to the ship via dimension door, leaving Vanthus & his bodyguards to fend for themselves. (The bodyguards were quickly dispatched, although the druid did manage to critically hit (Paizo's fumble deck) the dwarven juju zombie PC (long story), but in the druid's point of view, this certainly also counts as a glorious moment).

2) But the most glorious moment happened a few moments later (it really couldn't have been planned any better): Conan, the barbarian/totemnic demonslayer (& husband of Lavinia) is fighting Vanthus (both are flying) and giving him a severe punishment (raging, power attacking & holy weapon). Vanthus pulls out the shadow pearl & threatens to use it. The raging barbarian ignores the warning & one double crit later (nat 20, confirmed by nat 20, confirmed by hit), we have one dead Vanthus (even the augmented antagonist template was no match for this). Of course, the pearl falls from his dead hands & activates when cracking on the ground. Ezren, the sorcerer, then speeds to the smoking pearl and manages to contain it in his bead of force - Savage Tide averted & Farshore is saved!