I prefer the players journals as well. On the rare occasion when I'm a player I like to write from my character's perspective, and it is much more interesting for me than just documenting the facts as a dm. It really helps bring the characters to life. Hopefully I'll see some more because they do a decent job at it when they take the time.
Finally another journal entry from a player- another letter from Captain Breca.This will likely be my last post on this thread, you guys are almost caught up to where my group is (just finished ToD), and I’d rather not risk any spoilers, but I couldn't leave without commenting on this latest entry.
This is what I love: seeing the adventure from the character's perspective. Not that your accounts of you party's exploits aren't appreciated, it's just that the character's point of view is much more interesting to me. Tell your players to keep writing :)
PCs
Breca (Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demonwrecker 1)- Edward
Czar (Human, male, Mnk 1/Barbarian 7)- Alex
Vel'drin (Human, male, Cleric 6/Zombie master 3)- Jason
Jaheria (Human (deathtouched), Fighter 9)- Michael
Argent (Air Gensai, Swashbuckler/Figher/Wizard/Abjurant Champion 9)- Jeff
Game Session #14 (Part #1, The Shrine of Zotzilla): With Temuhti-Tecuani dead, the party stares in awe at its massive corpse and spends time healing the wounded. Gradually, the surviving phanaton warriors emerge from their hiding place in the jungle. They chitter in loud, high-pitched squeaks, chirps and clicks. They are obviously very excited and pleased to see their enemy destroyed, and they crowd around the characters eager to congratulate them on their victory. Of course they don’t speak the common tongue, and only one in the group even seems to command the Olman tongue. He calls himself Ja’hindi, and offers to escort the heroes to the village of his people were they can rest, recover and partake in a feast held in their honour to celebrate the victory. The band sets out, but it is already well towards the end of the day, and they soon need to make camp for the night. The night passes with much noise and commotion in the surrounding jungle but nothing that poses any immediate danger.
The next day they realize that the phanaton village is actually still a few days travel away. This is quite a concern for Veldrin, who fears that Zotzilla should not be trifled with, and that the bat idol must be delivered promptly to the god. Breca decides to demonstrate to the phanatons how the message spell works, and after doing so he arranges to have them meet the party in a few days to escort them to the phanaton village where the characters will then take them up on their offer of hospitality. Fascinated by Beca’s magic and eager to please their new heroes, the phanatons agree.
Thus, the two groups split ways, and the party continues west towards the Fangs of Zotzilla. The next day they run into trouble that cannot be avoided. The group is following a barely visible game trail, hacking their way through the jungle, when Argent hears a cacophony of shrill twittering coming towards them through the ferns. Nothing is visible, but it isn’t long before the ferns start rustling violently. Jaheria meanwhile is at the front of the party line and has just reached a huge fallen tree that is blocking the path. Luckily there is a gap about three feet high between the fallen tree and the ground, so she ducks under and is about to climb up on the great log, when she sees that a huge slimy slug is clinging to the side of the great log. It spots her and its eyestocks look in her direction. Then its body begins to slither to life. Jaheria retreats back under the log, warning her brother who is busy helping “mother” up the slippery, sloped trail.
Suddenly dozens of tiny raptor like dinosaurs the size of rats surge out from under the ferns in a deadly swarm. They race around Czar and Argent crawling up and over them, biting and tearing into the pair with their needle like fangs. Breca who is nearby and sees them coming at him, uses air walk to escape to the safety of the sky, while Argent levitates up into the air. With no magic at his disposal, Czar makes a retreat up the trail towards Vel’drin and “mother”. Jaheria climbs the log to escape the creatures, only to be attacked by the great slug with a savage acidic bite. At this point battle ensues. Breca focuses on blasting the needletooth swarm with area spells like flame strike and ice storm, which proves highly effective. The rest of the party focuses on slaying the slug, with Jaheria and Czar taking it on in melee, while the rest of the group hits it with spells and ranged attacks. It continues focusing on trying to kill Jaheria, inflicting multiple acidic bite wounds on her. Non-the-less, soon both the slug and the needletooth swarm are destroyed. Several party members have sustained injury, but no one is on verge of death. Healing is doled out and the party continues.
By nightfall they are approaching the rocky base of the volcano. This works out well for the characters because the Olmans say that numerous packs of feral baboons hunt the area, and that they retreat back to their dens at night. Though they are tired they decide to take advantage of the situation and continue. Thus, they begin the long hike up a narrow trail along the mountainside, and as night descends on the horrid isle they come to the entry way to the shrine. The entry consists of a large cave that has been transformed by the ancient Olmans. The back wall of the cave is now made of stone blocks and the floor is laid with large tiles. In the centre of the base of the back stonewall is a doorway that leads into the volcano and to the shrine. In addition three large statues stand in big recessed alcove at the top of the back wall. The centre statue resembles a crunched over batlike creature, and the flanking statues depict a dog headed skeleton and reptilian headed humanoid adorned in ancient armour. All the statues seem to show deities from the ancient Olman pantheon, but even the Olman zombie Master can’t place them all.
Cautiously, the group moves towards the doorway leading into the volcano. Suddenly three hulking baboon like creatures with dark blue fur and purple muzzles leap down from above and tear into the group with savage fangs and claws. Battle ensues. Breca hangs back and launches spells and crossbow bolts into their midst, as well as summons a couple of small fire elementals into the fray (a little strange for a cleric of an ocean god, but when you are near a volcano what are you gonna to do?). Argent uses his luminous armour to hamper their vision of him moving in to make lightning thrusts with his rapier, while also adding the occasional offensive spell into them, though they seem to have an uncanny ability to dodge such attacks, and he quickly decides melee is more effective tactic. Jaheria makes good use of her toothed Olman club, thumping them with terrible blows. Before Czar and Vel’drin can do much damage, the baboons let loose a frightful howl that sends waves of panic into the ranks of the heroes, and causes both Czar and Vel’drin to flee the fight. The other three are left to finish the battle, but in the end it is won, though Jaheria sustains serious injuries, and Vel’drin and Czar are both scathed as well. Yet the heroes remain undaunted (more or less) and venture into the dark passageway that will take them to the shrine.
Game Session #14, part 2.
After much trekking through the smokey darkness the tunnel opens up into a cavern that appears to be near the heart of the volcano. Small niches carved into the walls hold offerings to Zotzilla, and on one side of the room is bat like relief sculpture that has an empty alcove located right where its stomach should be. The alcove looks just the right size for the golden bat idol carried by Breca. Breca moves forward into the cave and inspects the bat statue. As he stares at the stone carving, there is a sudden tremor in the mountain and a burst of smoke and fire behind him. Breca hurriedly places the idol back in its proper place, as materializing from the smoke comes a terrible bat like humanoid whose divine power is nearly tangible. The creature introduces himself as Zotzilla. His voice rumbles with power, and his eyes blaze with fire. The heroes pray and steel themselves for battle against his divine wrath. Luckily, Zotzilla seems to understand that the heroes were not the thieves and is grateful that they managed to return the statue. As payment for their deed the god generously offers them each a gift. The bat statue suddenly animates and bows out of the way to reveal a hidden chamber with several more treasures, all of which look to be of great value. As the group inquires about the items, Zotzilla gives a curt description of the function of each item, many of which are magic. Argent selects a golden headband of intellect, Breca a periapt of wisdom, Czar and amulet of mighty fists, Jaheria chooses a coffer of platinum coins, and Vel’drin takes one of the other treasures (I can’t remember what it was- zombie hide armour?). Finally, Breca inquires about one final treasure- a simple fang of some size with runes etched in it. The fang radiates magic, but curiously Zotzilla does not know its function or where it came from. He says that it is not one of his treasures, and allows Breca to take the mysterious item. After selecting their gifts Zotzilla encourages them to be on their way quickly before he grows hungry.
Several long, sweltering days later the band reunites with the phanatons and they are taken to their village. The phanaton village is a well concealed tree town and the chief of the phanatons loans his own hut to the party for the duration of their stay. A lavish feast is prepared in their honour, and there is much storytelling and celebrating. During the visit Breca explains the danger posed to Farshore by the Crimson Fleet and asks if the phanatons would be willing to send warriors to aid in the colony’s defense. The chief agrees to think it over, but does mention that he knows where the heroes might be able to find a large cache of weapons that the colonists could use. This piques Breca’s interest and the chief explains that the weapons were created by an ancient race of catfolk called the Rakasta. The phanatons used to trade with a village of Rakastas to the north, but their village was destroyed several years ago by a band of demonic tribesman called “skin walkers”. Breca mentions that the group encountered a Rakasta woman named Savannah, which surprises and pleases the phanatons. The chief then goes on to explain that the phanatons were great warriors and weapon forgers. They had crafted many weapons to prepare themselves for an assault by the “skin walkers”, but the raiders hit them in the night with speed and stealth. The catfolk were unable to reach their weapons in time and they were slaughtered. The weapons were left in the temple, and the phanatons suspect they are still there for the taking.
The next day the chief agrees to send a small band of warriors with the party to help them locate the weapons cache. He also states that when they are ready to return to Farshore he will send with them warriors but that he can’t afford to spare too many. Breca is greatful non the less and thanks him for his generosity. The expedition sets out for the Rakasta ruin that morning.
Several days later the group reaches the ruined village. The jungle has reclaimed the village, but the stone stepped pyramid that stood in the village’s centre remains, though it is covered by vines and other vegetation. At the base of the pyramid is a large doorway that leads inside; vines and shadow obscure the view to the temple’s interior. Cautiously, the heroes approach the temple and as the get close there is sudden movement on the second step of the pyramid. A gargantuan anaconda with emerald green scales suddenly raises its head, and its cold, reptilian eyes stare hungrily at the approaching adventurers. With great speed it lunges forward to strike. Breca is snapped up in its jaws and then dropped into the centre of its coiling body, where its iron grip begins to crush the dwarf’s bones into dust- Breca is barely alive.
The group explodes into action. Jaheria assaults the monster with her toothed club, and Czar uses his enchanted longspear. Veldrin sends his ape zombies into battle, and Argent uses his benign transposition spell to swap one of the zombies for Breca. The snake obviously does not like the feel of undead flesh and ejects the zombie from his grasp after crushing it to powder. The snake takes Czar as its next victim. Breca doesn’t stop to heal. He takes to the air and begins bombarding his enemy with spells. Argent uses another transposition spell to save Czar, and all the while Jaheria continues to pound on the snake with her toothed club. She ends up as the snake’s next victim, but by now it has sustained terribleinjuries and it tries to carry her off. Veldrin has healed Czar enough that he charges back into the fight, and between his spear and spells from Breca, Veldrin and Argent the enormous snake finally slumps dead to the ground, releasing a horribly injured Jaheria from its crushing coils.
After much needed healing is performed by the two clerics, the group ventures into the temple.
(I may have been a little easy on them in the battle against the snake. I'm not sure if Benign Transposition coul be used to make a swap with a mindless zombie, as such a creature could not be "willing" as it has no will to speak of. Though Argent did ask Veldrin's permission to make the swap, and since Veldrin was controlling the zombies and created them I allowed this factor to permit the spell to work. If I hadn't I think I would have seen a few dead characters from this battle. I like to keep my game dangerous and exciting, but I'm no Allen Stuart. I find constant PC death to be too disruptiive to the flow of the campaign. I like seeing my players develop some attachment to their PCs before I kill them, so in a way maybe I'm even more sadistic).
Game Session #14 part 3.
for PC details refer to part 1 of this game session.
After much needed healing is performed by the two clerics, the group ventures into the temple. They enter a large chamber with a high ceiling that reaches up to the upper reaches of the ziggarat. Beams of sunlight filter down through cracks in the stone above illuminating the dark chamber. Decaying frescoes and damaged relief sculptures cover the walls depicting Rakastas engaged in various traditional activities (warfare being the most popular). In the centre of the room on large plinth is a larger than life jade statue of a jaguar. The statue is incredibly detailed and shows no sign of age. Surrounding it are many smaller statues of other animals- apes, crocodiles, snakes, etc… They all seem to be looking towards the great jaguar as if paying it tribute. The heroes spread out and begin to conduct a search of the room. Eventually, they are able to discover that the Jaguar statue is actually a well constructed illusion that conceals a deep shaft leading some sixty feet down into the earth. Breca and Jaheria, who both still have airwalk spells active on them from the battle with the anaconda, find the force of will to disbelieve the illusion and they easily walk into the statue and begin exploring the shaft. The bottom of it has filled with brackish water, but part way down is the entrance to a winding tunnel.
The pair along with Argent begin their exploration of the tunnel way. It is filled with niches that each contain a small jaguar statue with gemstones set in their eyes and tunnel slopes steadily downward at a steep angle. Fortunately, the heroes have the sense to leave such sacred relics alone. Soon the winding tunnel opens into a larger room that again has relief sculptures on the walls showing Rakasta warriors in battle. Again there is a stone plinth in the centre of the room with a jaguar statue on it. The chamber doesn’t seem to have any other exits. Hovering in the air near the jaguar statue is a large rainbow feathered serpent, a creature of great beauty that has a celestial presence about it. Breca and Jaheria recognize the creature as a Couatl- a powerful magical servant of the ancient Olman gods. The creature’s voice echoes through the minds of the heroes. It claims that it senses no evil in the party, and that it understands their intensions to plunder the weapon cache is not out of greed. Breca explains the situation to the feathered serpent, and it listens intently to his stories. Breca implores the feathered serpent for aid and asks that the creature reveal the weapons to them so that they might bring them back to Farshore. It ponders his request only briefly before agreeing to aid the party. It does however request that the weapons be returned to the temple when threat of the Crimson Fleet has been alleviated. The heroes agree to do their best to adhere to this request. Suddenly, the ground begins to rumble and the plinth bearing the jaguar statue begins to rise upward, revealing itself to be much longer than was initially obvious. As the column rises up out of the ground it becomes obvious that the plinth is really a massive weapons wrack, for rows of weapons are unveiled that cling to each side of the column. Hundreds of masterwork spears and arrows of fine are available for the taking. Finally the column stops its ascent and the jaguar statue now nearly touches the room’s 30’ high ceiling. In the final section of the great plinth is a recess that holds three enchanted weapons. One is magical composite longbow, the other is a toothed club (similar to Jaheria’s weapon), and the final weapon is a steel falchion. The couatl allows the group to plunder the entire weapon store, and it takes some time to cart the weapons out of the temple. In order to help carry the gear, Veldrin digs up several skeletons of Rakasta warriors that died in the battle against the Skinwalkers. He animates them, so that might be used to help carry the bundles of arrows and spears. Breca also sets about crafting a wooden sledge that Vedlrin’s zombie ape creature can tow, which they use to load more spears and arrow bundles upon. The group is well encumbered when they are finally ready to leave the next day, and the trek back to Farshore will be a slow one.
Current PC’s
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 2
Czar: Human, male, Monk 1/Barbarian 7/BearWarrior 1 (died at the hands of savage mutant pirates, raised from the dead)
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Swashbuckler 2/Fighter 2/Wizard 2/AbjuranChampion 3
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 3.
Jaheira: Olman (Human), female, Deathtouched, fighter 9.
Game Session #15 (The return to Farshore)
After several days of slogging through the jungle, the heroes arrive back at the phanaton village with the Rakasta weapons. The phanatons again extend their hospitality, with the chief once more offering his hut to the PCs, though the phanatons insist that undead be left on the ground below the tree town (an exception is made for “mother”). Thus, it is decided that the Rakasta weapons will be stored on the ground, concealed by brush and guarded by Jaheria and Veldrin’s undead minions. The rest of the band gathers up in the trees and dines with the phanatons and then retires to their hut, exhausted from their travels.
In the night their rest is interrupted by the shrill cries of phanatons as well the sound of deep savage sounding war cries. Argent is up on watch at the time and he pokes his head out from the hide doorflap of the hut. Looking out into the darkness he can see with his darkvision a terrible figure standing on the balcony of one of the nearby huts. The thing appears to be a muscular Olman warrior, but it wears the hide of some kind of massive lion as a cloak. The lion head of the cloak cover’s his own, hiding his features. Unlike a normal cloak the clawed lion arms of the garment are animated and writhe around. In fact, it looks as though the remains of the creature’s musculature, which still cling to the inside of the hide, have fused to the skin of the warrior. With one of his strong arms he holds a dead phanaton victoriously up in the air. He isn’t the only one of his kind, as Argent spots at least one more on another balcony, and the sounds of other warriors can be heard whooping from the surrounding darkenss.
Argent starts to activate his defensive magic, and launches a magic missile barrage at the intruder. At about the same time Czar emerges from the hut and the warrior charges across the bridge and does a leaping pounce at Czar, slashing with his Olman sword and the claws of his lion skin. Czar takes the hit and feels poison surging through his body, but his great fortitude staves off the worst of its effects. Breca and Veldrin happen to be closer to the rear doors of the hut and just as they are preparing to exit a band of short, stalky, fanged, demonic humanoids with redish skin burst into the hut, slashing at Veldrin with their clawed hands. Breca has no patience for these terrors and obliterates them with a well placed flame strike. He then heads out to find Czar and Argent while Veldrin casts an air walk spell on himself and strides out into the darkness, walking on the air itself.
The hulking Czar has little trouble getting his opponent in a pin and begins chocking the life out of him, while Argent notices that there are more of the raiders lurking about. One of them is on a nearby balcony and starts launching arrows at him. But Argent runs off across a nearby rope brige and lunges into aother hut to engage a couple more lion hide cloaked raiders that he spotted.
Veldrin deals with the archer by blasting him with a flamestrike, which destroys the section of balcony he stands on. The raider is only barely able to catch onto some still solid planks and finds himself dangling, with a hundred foot fall to the ground being a real prospect. After a searing light spell from Veldrin this prospect becomes reality, and he plumments to the ground where Jaheria (who has been stranded on the ground) rushes over and finishes the raider off, getting her first look at what the party is facing up above.
The battle continues to rage on in the tree town. The phanatons do their best to flee, leaping off of bridges and balconies and relying on their gliding abilities to sail safely down to the jungle floor. Meanwhile, Czar develops a new battle strategy and begins throwing grappled raiders off the balcony for Jaheria to squash should they survive the fall. Breca finds himself ambushed from behind by a ghoulish assassin demon called a Babau, and Czar (who is nearby to help) is loath to grapple the thing once he sees its acidic skin nearly melt Breca’s mace. Luckily, Breca has some spells ready to deal with such a threat and he gets it with a Demon Dirge spell that causes it writhe with continual divine damage. Veldrin targets it as well, managing to get close enough to use his death touch on the demon and nearly slay it. Finally, Czar lands the killing blow against the Babau. While all his is going on, Argent keeps the remaing raiders busy by jabbing at them with his rapier, while they slash and tear at him with their own weapons and with the claws of the strange, animated, lion hide cloaks that have bonded to their flesh. Argent’s glowing magical nibus armour radiates a blinding light that the fiends can’t look into and they find his abjurations nearly impossible to penetrate. Though Argent finds them tough to kill, he easily keeps them occupied long enough for the rest of the party to finish off their own foes and come to his aid. Soon the battle is over, and the small band of raiders has been destroyed, with excellent teamwork demonstrated by the party.
Later, after the chaos of the attack has recided, the phanatons explain that the raiders were the dreaded “skinwalkers”. These savage tribe’s men likely came from the great plateau located in the centre of the island. A place shrouded in mystery and superstition. A place the Olmans don’t speak of or venture. The skinwalkers are the same terrors that managed to kill the Rakastas, and it seems that now they are coming for the phanatons. Breca enourages them to abandon their village and come establish a new home near Farshore, but the little creatures are loath to give up the home they have always known and refuse his offer. They hope that the raiders were all slaughtered and the location of the village remains a secret. Though they agree that if raids continue they may take Breca up on his offer. Unfortunately, the raid causes them to rethink their offer to send warriors to aid Farshore. They decide that some will still be sent, but not as many as they had initially thought they could spare.
Excellent, good to see the players starting to get an inkling of the terrors ahead ... if the sargasso encounter didn't do it for them that is ...
Actually they didn't have too much trouble with the skinwalkers. I kind of used the above encounter as a little test for when I run City of Broken Idols. I might have to toughen them up a little.
Excellent, good to see the players starting to get an inkling of the terrors ahead ... if the sargasso encounter didn't do it for them that is ...
Here's another good letter written by Edward from the perspective of Captain Breca the sea cliff dwarf cleric.
Father,
If we ever have a mind to expand into prisons with short life-expectancies for their inmates, I suggest we open up a free-range prison here on the Isle of Dread. Even the natives have a hard time of it, and they're used to what lurks, crawls, strides and thunders through these hellish jungles. Otherwise I am still alive and well, though with a healthier appreciation of giant snakes and cantankerous volcano gods than before we set out.
Farshore has survived the years of isolation relatively well, which I suspect is more a function of it being on an island and surrounded by Olman villages than by any other stroke of fortune or good circumstance. Although cut off from civilization, they have made peace with the local tribes and the exchange of knowledge has allowed much of the colony to thrive. Lady Vanderboren's recent arrival has some a bit stirred up, but overall I believe it is a good thing, and certainly, the fresh supplies have helped enormously.
I have had only a day or two's rest since our last expedition into the jungles of the mainland, to search for allies and means of strengthening the defences of Farshore against the impending pirate attack. The local militia leader does not take the threat seriously, and seems to think that the colony's defences as they stand could ward off the Crimson Fleet. I have seen their brutality first hand, and know they will spare no one if the militia fails and the village falls. We expect the attack in three weeks, so my time will be divided between creating underground emergency shelters and improving the physical defences with various stone-shaping spells, raising the morale and increasing the efficiency of the church, and scribing as many scrolls as I can. I shall also commune with the aspect of Procan to determine as much as I can about the impending attack, so that there are as few surprises as possible.
If we emerge from this victorious, I ask that you make certain that my personal quarters in Gradsul are emptied. I may have found a way to travel home almost instantly, and if so, will bring sample goods and companions with me. I have also accumulated enough wealth to pay for the difference between the Wallowing Albatross and the Bearded Maiden, minus whatever you gained from the sugar and lumber in the Albatross's hold.
But this is all hopeful talk and not recounting our latest adventures.
After our initial arrival and talk with Lady Vanderboren, we chose to seek allies and assistance from the tribes of the Isle of Dread. The nearby Olmans, it turned out were having some trouble with one of the local volcano gods, some maligned aspect manifesting as a hideous bat. The god, Zohzilla (or something to that effect), was angry because a statue had been removed from a local temple, and so was threatening dire punishment if it was not returned. I took a chance and removed the bat god statue we found in the abandoned Olman city from my pack, showing it to the Olman matriach (who is a vile creature herself) and asking if this would ease their god's anger. Indeed it would, and may even be the artifact that was stolen, though I am at a loss as to how such a thing could have travelled a thousand or more miles to a city the Olmans have long-forgotten. Perhaps it is a test of the god, or perhaps there is something more sinister at work.
Still, we set out to return the statue to the volcano temple, and in exchange the Olamn's would aid in the defence of Farshore. A good bargain. We would also investigate the nearby tar pits, and drive off a tyrannosarus that has prevented the gathering of tar for some time.
Thus we travelled through the hot jungle to the tar pits, arguing as to how to defeat such a monstrous creature, only to find the tar pits a scene of melee. Phanatons had tired to gather tar, and were being set upon by the huge beast. I took to the air while Jaheria rushed into battle with the dinosaur. Veldrin and I cast a number of spells, while Argent, Jaheria and Czar risked certain death by closing into battle with it. The old monster did not die easily, almost taking Czar and Jaheria with it, but fortune aided us and they survived, though only barely.
Upon killing the rex, the remaining phanatons gathered around us, and we learned that the mighty beast was called Temuhti-Tecuani. I wish Kratos was still with us, for he would have found it a most worthy foe and relished the challenge of this grandfather of beasts. Most of the phanatons did not speak Olman, but one by the name of Jahindi did, and so after much talk we were invited back to the phanaton camp for a celebration. We began the trek to their home, but Veldrin expressed concerns about the time, and after a brief discussion with the phanatons, we agreed to meet them after dealing with the volcano god.
We hiked further into the godless jungle, which is no place for a dwarf - being hot, humid, bug-infested, difficult to journey through, and full of creatures large and small that regard me as nothing more than a particularly interesting snack. My short legs do not help matters, as the party can only travel at my pace. By Procan's Name, I have even had to keep my beard short, for all manner of biting insect tries to make a nest in it if I do not! Each evening camping involves time with a mirror and a dagger, stripping off the armour and prying ticks and leeches from the skin.
I shall not make a habit of roaming this wilderness if I can help it - it is no proper place for a sailor. Czar may have it worse than I though, with the animal hides he wears. I watched him remove his boots yesterday and I swear the case of foot fungus he has acquired is the most revolting I have smelled, though it is hard to tell if it was his feet or the rotting zombies that accompany Veldrin. Still, there is what can only be described as an odd 'squishy' noise when he steps down with his right foot, so I suspect a little chat about dry socks may be in order. At least his dysentery has at last cleared up! He has endured five weeks of the flux, and at last has adapted to whatever bug in the local water so afflicted him. I can only suspect that years of eating Hlaf's shipboard cooking has made me immune to the problem.
We reached the volcano shrine after a few encounters, somewhat battered, but determined to press on. The statue was indeed what had been stolen, and as a reward we were allowed to take a certain number of 'treasures' from the shrine. I took a periapt of wisdom, which is proving a most blessed choice as with it Procan grants me more spells and a certain edge to the power they have.
From the volcano we went to the phanaton village and were made welcome. I think that there is far more to these strange wee folk than first it seems, and will try to encourage them to start a small village near Farshore (presuming we survive). They are simple and have very few metal items, but they have excellent knowledge of plants and animals, are superb at hiding in the jungle, and if A'hi is any guide, are quite capable in their own way. It would not hurt to have a small band of them at Farshore to teach us more about the jungle in return for goods and trade.
They also told us of Savanah's people, and a cache of weapons that might be of use, at a site several days away. Not having enough time to get to the Bearded Maiden and back, it seemed like a good choice. We were escorted by a few more of the phanaton to another ruined ziggurat, which was now the home of a giant snake. I was the first to feel its bite and then the crushing grasp of its coils, which nearly killed me had it not been for Argent's displacement magic. It destroyed two of the zombies before we slew it, much to the amazement of the phanatons. I asked Czar to cut a good portion of its hide off, and have taken that as a trophy. If it can be cured, it will make an interesting sample for trade.
The weapons were indeed in the temple, guarded by a couatl, a kind of winged serpent that I have only read of as a legend. Alone and still grieving over the death of the catfolk who served it, the beast allowed us to take the weapons on the condition that they are eventually returned. Perhaps I gave it some hope by mentioning our travel with Savanah, and promising to send her news of this guardian of her people.
Veldrin finally demonstrated a better use for his zombies (though it seems he tries to animate everything we kill, and most disgusting, his sister appears to ritualistically eat the flesh of the dead - some pagan belief about inheriting the power of the vanquished foe. By Procan! It's almost like travelling with the foul orcs Egil has mentioned. Soon nothing will amaze or horrify me) by having them pull makeshift sleds upon which we lade the weapons. The noise of our passage and the stench of dead flesh (or foot-fungus) seems to ward off most creatures, and apart from an attack on the phanaton village by a demonic tribe of 'skin-walkers', the journey back has been uneventful.
So there is hope. We have Olman and phanaton warriors to aid us, masterwork weapons for our best warriors to wield, and three weeks of work to prepare as best we can. I will also send word to A'hi and Savanah asking for their aid, as we could certainly use the furry little spellcaster, and the lightning quick catwoman.
So I shall write once again before the attack, and let you know the details of our treasure store, which is well-hidden in the rock near the harbour. I do not know if it would be worth the voyage alone, but certainly Egil may want to journey here and recover the treasures of his brother in years to come.
Peace of the depths upon you all,
Breca.
Actually they didn't have too much trouble with the skinwalkers. I kind of used the above encounter as a little test for when I run City of Broken Idols. I might have to toughen them up a little.
Excellent, good to see the players starting to get an inkling of the terrors ahead ... if the sargasso encounter didn't do it for them that is ...
Hrm ... IIRC, the City of Broken Idols I do not recollect the skin walkers being particularly squishy. Thier tactics and defenses as written are reasonably formidable, and in certain cases could result in several character deaths should the players get sloppy.
If your group is particularly large, or otherwise demonstrating extreme formidability, a 'simple fix' (rather than running increased numbers of them) is to ramp thier hit points up from the general 'averaged' hit points that is usually employed, all the way to maximum if need be. While it might seem unfair, I do know it works to make a given encounter more of an actual challenge to a large group of players without necessarily requiring multiplying the numbers of thier foes. The other nice thing about doing so is, that if the players' luck is taking a turn for the worse but they are otherwise earning thier keep, you can just as easily nudge the bad guys' hit points back down to a more comfortable level. Or not, should they be losing due to getting stoopid on you. ^_^
However, all that having been said is nothing really new. I look forward very much to perusing your accounts of your players' further misadventures upon the Isle of Dread.
Myself, I intend to beg, borrow and steal as many good ideas and bits of flavor text from the various journals herein when the time comes to run my own groups through the chapters that cover the Isle of Dread. I very, very much want them to find it as memorable an adventuring location as it was for me back in the day.
Well adding in the socerers will make a big difference. Anyhow I didn't really care if the fight didn't end up being too tough. I mostly just wanted to run a battle in the phanaton tree town and I wanted to introduce the skinwalkers into the game a little earlier. Both those objectives were accomplished. I am sure they'll prove more dangerous when they are defending their own home. I wasn't really looking for a PC kill that day. Our next session will be the battle of against the Crimson Fleet. I won't be showing any mercy in that fight, and I hope to make it the most grueling challenge they've faced thus far. However, the PCs are quite canny and have been making lots of solid plans to defend the colony, which I will have to reward to some extent, but I'm going to be a lot more nasty with the Vrocks, which should make a difference to how the fight plays out.
Actually they didn't have too much trouble with the skinwalkers. I kind of used the above encounter as a little test for when I run City of Broken Idols. I might have to toughen them up a little.
Excellent, good to see the players starting to get an inkling of the terrors ahead ... if the sargasso encounter didn't do it for them that is ...Hrm ... IIRC, the City of Broken Idols I do not recollect the skin walkers being particularly squishy. Thier tactics and defenses as written are reasonably formidable, and in certain cases could result in several character deaths should the players get sloppy.
If your group is particularly large, or otherwise demonstrating extreme formidability, a 'simple fix' (rather than running increased numbers of them) is to ramp thier hit points up from the general 'averaged' hit points that is usually employed, all the way to maximum if need be. While it might seem unfair, I do know it works to make a given encounter more of an actual challenge to a large group of players without necessarily requiring multiplying the numbers of thier foes. The other nice thing about doing so is, that if the players' luck is taking a turn for the worse but they are otherwise earning thier keep, you can just as easily nudge the bad guys' hit points back down to a more comfortable level. Or not, should they be losing due to getting stoopid on you. ^_^
However, all that having been said is nothing really new. I look forward very much to perusing your accounts of your players' further misadventures upon the Isle of Dread.
Myself, I intend to beg, borrow and steal as many good ideas and bits of flavor text from the various journals herein when the time comes to run my own groups through the chapters that cover the Isle of Dread. I very, very much want them to find it as memorable an adventuring location as it was for me back in the day.
Game Session #15 part 2.
For Party details see game session 15 part 1.
The days have been passing in the jungle and marching has been slow, thus the heroes don’t linger among the phanatons and set out the next day with a small band of warriors and Veldrin’s skeletal Raksasta porters. Breca uses a message spell to inform Lavinia that they need her to pick them up in the bay near the fangs of Zotzilla in about six days, which will be much faster than trying to move overland for the entire trip. He hears back that she will do her best to be there with the Blue Nixie.
Several days later the heroes find themselves on the Blue Nixie. Veldrin and Jaheria are dropped off at Tanora to spread word of the events to the Olmans and recruite the Olman warriors, while the weapons are safely secured in the hold of the Nixie and brought back to Farshore with the phanatons.
Once back in Farshore work begins in full for the preparations. The expedition to the mainland took just over one month, and Breca decides that by the time the tar supplies arrive, it will be too close the attack to make it worth risking a trip north to salvage the Bearded Maiden. He decides it’s best to focus efforts on preparing Farshore’s defences.
A few events have occurred in Farshore since the party left. Firstly, an election has been called, so that the rulership conflict between Lavinia and Lord Manathlay can be resolved once and for all. The two of them seem to be increasingly at odds with one another, and have shown little ability to cooperate. In response to the upcoming election, Manathlay puts out a dinner invite to Argent, Breca and Czar shortly after their arrival back in town and maks a case for him being mayor. He wines and dines them and disparages Lavinia, and then requests that they support him in the election. The two happily eat his food and suffer through his spiel, but make no promises as they leave his manor. As it stands they have already decided that they will remain loyal to Lavinia.
In the following days much work is undertaken. Czar helps Deeks with his militia trainings, instituting a very “hands on” teaching style that leaves most of the colonist battered and bruised by the end of the sessions. In a few days it looks as though the colonists are all a bunch of rowdy thugs who have been brawling in taverns or that they are being abused by their spowses. But as time passes they begin to develop the discipline and skills that Czar and Deek are trying to imbue them with.
Breca spends much of his time drafting battle plans and constructing emergency storage tunnels and shelters in the rocky cliff side just north of the colony using stoneshape spells. He also starts drafting plans for barricades to be made within the village itself, so as to help funnel the attackers away from the docks to various kill zones where defenders can bottleneck them and plunge spears into them or pepper them with missile weapons. In addition, Breca takes the time to help the phanatons adjust to their new residence in one of the water front warehouses. He even decides to string a hammok up in the rafters and sleep among them. Futhermore, he decides to do some campaigning for Lavinia (he’s a busy dwarf).
The Jade Ravens, Lavinia’s other band of adventureres have spent time in the nearby jungle ridding it of a tribe of trogs that have been threatening those venturing outside Farshore’s palisade. Unfortunatley, Deek refused to accompany them, as he and Tolin have had continuing conflicts due to their mutual affection for Lavinia. He cited the need to train the militia as his excuse. In the end the Jade Ravens persevered, but the trogs proved to be viscious adversaries and nearly killed Kaskus and left Tolin badly injured. Luckily Yvy was there with her summoning spells and was able to bring in a vertible army of summoned allies to crush the foul reptiles. The group was victorious but Tolin was not happy when they got back- he could have used the extra sword arm (or maybe he was just looking for an opportunity to take a shot a Deek and make himself look like a hero).
Eventually Veldrin and the Jaheria and the Olman warriors arrive back in Farshore. They take residence in another of the waterfront warehouses, sleeping on mats on the floors, and Jaheria initiates her own training program to ready the Olmans for battle against the Crimson Fleet.
Veldrin keeps busy by assisting Breca and helping plan evacuation routes for the colonists to retreat to the caves and tunnels Breca has been crafting.
Last but not least, Argent chooses to occupy himself by spending long hours deciphering Professor Adlewattle’s muddled spell book and adding spells from it to his own reptoir. Adlewattle (the local alchemist and wizard) was kind enough to allow him to borrow his spell books to help Argent bolster his magical prowess for the upcoming battle.
All and all things the preparations are going well, but tensions build as the days pass and the threat of the Crimson Fleet loams ever closer, and despite the best efforts of Breca and the others, fear is creeping into the hearts of the colonists.
I love vrocks, they're such malicious relatively 'low-end' demons, and many fond memories linger from 1st and 2nd edition for me.
I absolutely cannot wait to torment my PCs with them myself, so I am eagerly awaiting your descriptions of the characters' first ever encounter with the troupe of vrocks.
My players have been doing a bit of e-mail rping in Farshore, as they prepare for the attack from the Crimson Fleet. I figured since I have all the text sitting in my e-mail I might as well post it.
The first part is "An evening at the Last Coconut". This is a conversation between Argent (air gensai, abjurant champion, who has been living in the colony for a few months and is an acquaintence of Lord Manathlay)
One muggy evening after the afternoon rains have subsided you find yourself in the Last Coconut. With a hard day of deciphering Aldwattle's muddled spell book under your belt, you certainly feel as though you deserve a drink or maybe several.
As you enter you notice Ulveen snoring in his hammock, with the usual mound of banana peels and coconut shells scattered on the wooden floor of the porch. He doesn't stir as you pass by. You stride confidently into the busy common room, and as usual Malfus is there along with Melissa and Ivy. You see Lord Manathlay sitting on one side of the room taking his supper (which he often does here). A few burly locals sit at his table and they converse in hushed voices. Many of the other tables are also filled. These days the colonists are a quiet bunch. They've been working especially hard during the days building barricades, repairing walls, being bruised up under Czar's "hands on" style of militia training. Several of them have black eyes and various swellings that are testaments to the grueling training regime Czar has initiated. The lot has barely the energy to eat their meals, let alone engage in rowdy conversation.
Malfus and his daughters are quite busy attending to the hungry customers, but Melissa still manages to flash you her usual smile and bends especially low as she sets down some drinks on a table, giving you a choice view of her not quite ample cleavage. Ivy ignores you completely.
It only takes you an instant for your wandering eyes to catch a glimpse of the ever attractive Lavinia, a sight that draws your gaze away from Meillisa's cleavage, much to her disappointment. Lavinia is sitting on the opposite side of the common room from Manathlay and she is engaged in a conversation with the righteous paladin Deek (who until recently was quite popular among the people of Farshore for his handsome looks and charismatic personality. That was until he and Czar started dragging men from their beds at the crack of dawn for militia training- something that Ulveen had never started before noon, if at all). You vaguely recall something about a meeting to discuss the progress of the defence plans. Czar and Breca ought to be coming by in a while, and you think your presence may be expected. You are just about to head over to the table and sit across from Lavinia, for her blouse appears to open a few buttons and you would like to get a good vantage point, when Manthalay seems to notice you and calls you over to his table.
Though perhaps tempted to ignore him, you decide to humor the "mayor" and you move among the tables, deftly giving Melissa a quick pinch on the butt as she passes buy, illiciting a playful squeak from her and a knowing smile. As you reach his table he looks up from his meal. Pieces of crab shell cling to his beard, and you can tell buy all the empty tankards near him that he's had a few drinks.
Argent: With a resolved sigh I take a seat across from the
drunken “mayor”; this has been a long time coming and
its not going to be pretty but it must be done. First
things first though; I look him in the eye, long and
steady and unsmiling so he knows that I’m serious and
not the “good ole’ fun loving Argent that he’s used
to.
"Evening Argent. I haven't seen much of you around lately. What have you been keeping up to? I'd thought you'd be out every morning with the militia taking beats from that mad man with the Bear mask.
Listen, I've heard some rumors that the dwarf priest and his oversized henchman aren't going to be supporting me in the election. They seem to say that tits over there is better suited to running this town than I am. I'm not surprised to hear that about the dwarf, as I can see that he wants to stick his stubby little knob in her, but I was hoping that Czar might be swayed due to our mutual membership in the Horns. Anyhow it doesn't much matter, he's not going to be selling too many of her votes- what with that stinking bear mask and him beating up half the colony on a daily basis. Breca on the other hand... Well the people respect him- stupid clerics!
So the question remains. Where do you stand? We've been friends a while now and I know there was time when I could have counted on you, but I've been seeing you eyeing Lavinia up. Hey you're right my friend- she's a fine looking piece ass, but I'll say it again Argent. That's all she is. You've also been spending a lot of time with stubby and fur head, which reminds me you've got to have a chat with that man. That worn out old thing he insists on wearing over his ass ugly face is crawling with lice, stinks to the Abyss and is giving little Francis nightmares. Where was I again?
Oh yeah, so where do you stand old friend? Are you going to help win me some votes? I need you. We can't let tits take the colony. No one will get anything done with her strutting around all day."
Argent: “I have been pouring over that old Aldwattles
spellbook for the last week preparing for the coming
battle. He was kind enough to provide me with
supplies and free access to his spells. Are you aware
that the Crimson Fleet is coming to your small colony
Mayor?”
I would like to inform you that I know your enemy and
this is no idle matter, this is not something that we
can brush off and hope for the best. The Crimson
Fleet is ruthless and when they come many people will
die. Breca has the people’s respect because he earned
it, by trying his best to find a way that we can drive
off the fleet. Czar is out pounding the men because
they needed it; they have been too complacent under
Ulveen’s training, he is my friend but that is the
truth of it. As for Lavinia I have not been able to
get near her or even ply my charms on her because she
spends every waking moment trying to find a way we can
best survive the pirate’s attack. To be honest, when
trouble reared its ugly head I was prepared to find a
way to leave this colony. I was but one man, hardly
enough to turn your heads to the coming threat and
easily brushed off. Without Breca or Lavinia I can
honestly say that it would have been a slaughter, with
them we have a fighting chance perhaps less people
would have died then without them.
As for you Mayor, you ask me if you have my support in
the coming election. I tell you honestly that I would
be glad to give it. All you must do is answer one
simple question to my satisfaction: What have you
been doing in preparation for the coming battle? What
have you been doing to help safeguard my life as well
as the life of the colonists and especially all of
these young lovely ladies?"
He considers your words, surprised to see such a serious look on your face.
Manathlay: "Well first things first Argent (his voice sounds angry), things were pretty quiet here until Lavinia showed up. Do you think its just coincidence that shortly after her arrival a ship full of pirates showed up to raid the colony? Do you think it's just coincidence that shortly after her arrival the Crimson Fleet is sailing towards our doorstep? I don't think so. As far as I'm concerned she's the brought these troubles on us.
And don't think for a second that I haven't been taking the threat of the Crimson Fleet seriously! I've been helping to supervise the upgrades of the palisades. I have been busy taking inventory of our supplies and figuring out what should be moved into storage and what should remain here. I have been helping the drawing up exit strategies and battle plans. It isn't just Breca and Lavinia who are working at these things. The problem is that that uppity b+@!# has been stepping on my toes at every turn.
As soon as she arrived she started criticizing nearly everything I've done (at this point he start getting a bit loud). Half of the buildings in this colony weren't built when Verrick and Larissa Vanderboren left. I built much of this palisade with my own hands. The watch towers and gates- I put days of sweat and toil into seeing them completed. The trade we've established with the Olmans was negotiated by me, and has been maintained by me. When half the buildings in this colony were destroyed in a storm last year, I was the one who gave the people the leadership they needed to rebuild (at this point he is nearly yelling, and a number of people have stopped to stare). So don't try to suggest that I have no stake in the survival of this colony. What in the hells has she done? Was she out in cutting down trees and making lumber? Did she dig holes to put in the palisade logs? Did she pull people out from rubble after the storm? No she f@%~ing hasn't!
But you know what Argent I am getting pretty sick and tired defending myself like this. You go stand where you choose, and you're welcome by the way for a all the lodging, food, and medical care I provided for you in those days after you dragged your barely living carcass out of the jungle. Your welcome for allowing you to share in my best rum and Brandy whenever you've felt like it. You're welcome for all the meals you've had at my table. If after all that you still aren't loyal to me than you can go f+@! yourself, and stay out of my booze!
And yes, I am done trying to work with that woman! She brought these troubles on us, so she can either get us out of them or back down and let me run this town in the way I know best.
Now if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to be on my way. With that he gets to his feet and clomps towards the door flashing Lavinia a look of malice on the way out.
One of his friends at the table looks up at Argent. "He speaks the truth you know. I'd be pissed if I were him too."
Argent looks at the man, "I have been stuck in a stuffy library
all day, I am fresh out of that horrible jungle and
the impending pirate attack has put the thought of
politics out of my mind. I am short tempered and if
he would allow me I will apologize later. There may
be truth in what he says, but there is truth in what I
say as well. He would do well to recognize that."
Argent then moves to the door and catches Manathlay as he heads out.
"It may have been Lavinia that brought the pirate
attack upon us lord, but as of now that matters little.
We must stay together if we are to survive it and playing
these political games does not help the situation any.
We can settle who rules this colony after these
matters are settled.
*Argent sighs*
You are drunk and I am tired, perhaps we are saying
things we will regret tomorrow. As I said, I am more
than happy to support you; but you had been getting
lax in your duties when I left, and dinners and brandy
do not run a colony. These are the moments that
define a great leader. I can not think of this now,
ask me where I stand after the battle, if we both
live."
Manathlay gives a grunt and a nod, then staggers out the door, obviously in mood to continue the discussion.
A few minutes after Lord Manthalay leaves the Last Coconut he runs into Breca (Sea Cliff dwarf cleric, nominal party leader) and Czar (human, Barbarian- grappling expert)
To Breca- one night on after a long day of working on the tunnel complex's you are on your way to the Last Coconut to meet up with some of the others and discuss some of your plans for the defence of Farshore. Czar has joined you, having just finished an evening of weapons maintenance and militia drills (not to mention wrestling bouts with various young Olman warriors eager to prove themselves- all of which you won decisively). As you approach the Last Coconut you can see Ulveen (the Hazodzee militia commander) in his usual spot, which is a hammock suspended in the front porch, banana peels and coconut shells lay scattered on the ground beneath him and he snores loudly. Suddenly, the door burst open and Lord Manathlay staggers out. He stumbles drunkenly down the stairs and heads along the street in your direction. He soon reaches you, and you can smell the rum on him. He's a burly man of above average height and has the build of a warrior. Bits of food from his evening meal still cling to his well trimmed beard and mustache. His thick head of curly dark hair is rare thing on a man of his age (mid forties). As he reaches the two of you he stops.
"So I hear the two of you are supporting Lavinia in the election. I had hoped you'd be a little wiser. She's going to bring doom to this colony if she has her way. Things were good here until she came, now everyone is scared for their lives."
He then looks down at Breca, "So captain why did you pick her? Are you looking to rut her too? It seems that everyone else around here is. Don't you think you're probably a little short for her taste, but I guess there aren't a lot of those bearded dwarf maidens around here, and if you're stuck with a human you might as well pick a looker like Lavinia. Though I'm pretty sure I could find you someone around here with a little more facial hair."
Next he turns to Czar, who he needs to look up at a little to make eye contact with.
"And you... I wasn't surprised to hear that the good captain wasn't going to support me. From what I hear he's had a thing for Lavinia for a while. But you... I had expected more from you. We're brothers. We both bear the mark of the Horns, and that means we're supposed to support one another. Have you fallen under her spell too? She's just a woman. Sure she's attractive, but that's about it. When I first saw you I figured you and I would be fast friends. I was thrilled to see another warrior here, someone who could face the threats this island holds. But it looks like you're siding with Miss Vanderboren as well. I guess she's got a big bed over in her manor. Will you still be wearing that ridiculous bear mask when you f%@# her? I mean I don't think I've even seen you take it off. Don't you get hot? The thing's crawling with lice you know, and it stinks something awful.
Anyhow, no hard feelings boys. If you want to take your handbags and go stand in the lady's corner that's your business, but don't come crying to me when everything goes to shit. Have a good night gentlemen."
He then stumbles off towards his manor.
Czar grunts and moves as if he might hurt the man, but Breca urges restraint.
Breca sighs deeply, mutters "Humans..." and with a look at Czar, says, "Well, let's make sure the old man gets home safe. It's a bastard thing to say those things to you, but this whole business will wear on anyone's mind. Manathlay's been looking after this colony for what... two years? And here we come, with her Ladyship and all, changing things, usurping the way things work by supporting her in the election, and trying to knock sense into these people that the threat from the Crimson Fleet is real. Doom and gloom, yes, but not without purpose. If the Fleet weren't coming I'd be tempted to leave well enough alone, and let old Manathlay run the place, but alas Czar, it's not to be. Come on, he's stumbled into that rain barrel."
Breca forlornly wanders after Manathlay.
C'moonn... you promised us an update in all its brutal glory ...nudgenudge
PCs
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 2
Czar: Human, male, Monk 1/Barbarian 7/BearWarrior 1 (died at the hands of savage mutant pirates, raised from the dead, has been turned into a savage creature)
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Fighter 1/Swashbuckler 3/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 3
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 3.
Jaheira: Deathtouched, fighter 9.
Game Session #16 (The battle for Farshore, Part 1):
As the anticipated attack by the Crimson Fleet draws near, Breca attempts some final preparations by casting multiple commune and divination spells. He learns a number of disconcerting things: the pirates will be supported by demons, constructs, and arcane magic. They bring with them powerful magic that could destroy the entire colony and Lavinia’s brother Vanthus might be among them. The attack will come at night near the end of the week.
In response to this knowledge the colony is evacuated to the tunnels that Breca has built with his magic midway through the week, so that only militia and Olman warriors are left. Breca and Jaheria start camping out in the crude watchtower constructed near the harbor mouth, so that they can be alert to any ships that might move into the harbor at night. They hide in a small tunnel beneath the tower in case spellcasters start trying to blast the fortification with magic. The rest of the party remains in the village.
The night of the battle finally arrives. It begins with Jaheria and Breca who are camped out in their wet tunnel. The pair hears the sound of something creeping about in the tower above them and they move to investigate. Jaheria comes out first and before her is a hulking, nine foot tall demonic vulture creature. As she sets eyes on the fiend she raises her holy Shimo-Koa (a club fitted with teeth and claws) and smashes the fiend with a terrible blow. Breca binds it the material plane with a dimensional anchor spell, and the battle begins. The vrock demon starts tearing into Jaheria with its talons and claws and manages to unleash a screech so powerful that it stuns the mighty warrior woman, giving it chance to inflict even more damage on her. Breca hits it with demon dirge spell and causes it much pain. Luckily, Jaheria is only stunned for a few seconds and though badly injured she regains her wits and is able to bring her holy weapon to bear on it several more times. The holy damage from her mighty swings and the harm from Breca’s spell is enough to force it to try to fly off, but she gets off a final swing as it flees and destroys the fiend. Breca sets about tending to her wounds.
Meanwhile in Farshore, Czar is on patrol along the waterfront with a small band of militia when suddenly another the vulture demon appears behind his patrol. It rips into the back ranks of the militia, and shreds the night air with its stunning screech. This spurs Czar into action; whistles are blown and the alarm is sounded. Veldrin is sleeping in the nearby warehouse, which has been converted into a barraks, and is awakened by the demon’s horrific screech. He orders the Olman warriors to ready for battle and he hurries out to join the fight with his zombie Gamol bodyguard and a small entourage of skeletons. Czar finds himself face to face with the vrock and seems to be unable to grapple the fiend. It tears at him with its claws and talons and detonates a cloud of spores that imbed themselves in his body and begin to grow. Czar is bloodied and battered and the fight has only just begun. Veldrin hits it with a dimensional anchor, just as a second vrock joins the fight. Argent arrives shortly after and puts his demon bane longbow (a weapon he recovered from the Rakasata temple) to use. The Olmans try to help, but find their weapons essentially useless against the demons and they retreat back behind the barricades to await mortal foes. The vrocks prove to be a tough fight, with Czar being forced to flee and drink his healing potions. Veldrin also sustains significant wounds from their claws and only Argent with his powerful abjurations manages to avoid extensive injuries. Finally, the trio with the aid of Veldrin’s zombie gambol (a large ape like creature) manage to destroy vrock that is bound by the dimensional anchor, and injure the other one enough to drive it away. Looking out to sea they see torches on the water and hear the bloodlust filled cries of pirates as their launches move across the water towards the shore. It seems that the fleet has arrived.
As Breca and Jaheria finish off their foe they notice that ships are gliding through the darkenss into the harbor. They initiate their battle plan. Breca casts waterbreathing on the pair, along with freedom of movement on Jaheria and a fly spell on her (from his travel domain). The two then dive into the water. Breca clings to her back and Jaheria glides through the water with ease due to the effects of Breca’s spells. They soon come to the nearest ship. The pair posistion themselves beneath its hull, and Jaheria takes out her adamantite Shimo Koa, a weapon crafted from the lump of adamantite the party retrieved in Tomoachan just for this purpose. With her freedom of movement spell, she is able to swing with tremendous force despite being underwater, and she hits the hull with devastating power attacks that shatter the wood like a cannon and start filling the bilge with water. It isn’t long before the hull has sustained so much damage that the ship is sinking.
With the one ship sinking, the pair fly out of the water, and staying close to the waves they hurtle through the night air towards their next target. They can see that many launches have been deployed and battle hungry pirates are rowing quickly towards Farshore. As they pass one of the rowboats they take the time to allow Breca to unleash create water spells in it, dumping some twenty gallons of water into the already full little launch. It is enough to cause the vessel to capsize and dump its crew into the water. Soon they arrive at the next ship and again take up position beneath its hull, so they can repeat the process.
Back on shore, things are quiet for a few moments. The defenders move to take up their positions and Czar and Veldrin take advantage of the respite to use potions and wands to heal. Veldrin moves his undead near the piers to act as a first line of defense for when the pirates hit the shore, but before the first launch arrives a pair of massive flesh golems drag themselves out of the water and start lumbering towards the defenders, it seems that a couple more of the constructs have come out farther along the docks as well. Veldrin’s zombie gambol blocks the path of one and Veldrin summons some skeletal owl bears to back it up. The other golem finds Czar rushing to intercept it. Czar has drawn his own adamantite sword, and he cuts deep into its flesh. The pair exchange several blows, and the massive slams of the golem soon take their toll on Czar leaving him terribly wounded once again. Veldrin’s undead fair well and Veldrin continues to summon more skeletal minions to aid the fight. This tactic proves wise, for the first of the pirate launches are now hitting the shore and pirates are beginning to swarm onto the docks. The skeletons prove effective at slowing them down and intimidating them.
As the pirates arrive, they are accompanied by ballista bolts from the ships and magical fireballs that also seem to come from one of the ships. Several of Veldrin’s weaker undead are destroyed by the infernos, and as the flesh golems begin to drop from the heroes’ blows, the barrage starts blasting Veldrin and the Olmans hiding behind the barricades, burning several of them to death and sending others fleeing for safety. Argent, who had been occupying himelf by taking pot shots at the golems and pirates, picks out which ship the attacks are coming from and takes to the sky, racing through the night towards his new enemy.
Breca and Jaheria complete their task of sinking the second ship and they again emerge form the water. They are able to see the small beads of flame streaking through the sky from a ship ahead of them (there are three left) and detonate on the shore, so they make for with haste. They keep low and and dive back under the water as they approach. Soon they are beneath the hull, and Jaheria starts trying to shatter it. This draws attention and as the harbor water starts to fill the bilge, her darkvision spots several figure hovering in the air over top of the hole she has made. One of the figures must be the mage, as a blast of lightning suddenly hits the water. The electrical energy hits both her and Breca causing them much pain. The other figures unleash arrows into the water at her, and a couple of them tag her. Jaheria and Breca decide to make a withdrawl and they fly back up out of the water, landing on the deck of the ship where they decide to wait for their enemies to emerge so that they can deal with them. However, before they can worry about those foes they find the vrock that escaped the fight on shore has found them, and Jaheria is forced to finish it off, taking a couple of more slash wounds from the demon in the process. Just as she finishes sneds it back to the abyss, Argent arrives ready to lend his aid.
All is quiet, so Jaheria dives back beneath the water and spots a pair of humanoid creatures with snakelike heads gliding through the water, about to emerge and attack. She engages one with her holy Shimo Koa, while the other one bursts from water and flies up to launch an arrow at Breca who is waiting on the deck of the ship. Two more of the snake men fly up form the stairs that lead below deck and they too unleash poisoned arrows.
The real threat emerges from behind Breca as the mage also erupts from the water. The wizard is wreathed in a nimbus of demonic fire and massive constrictor like snake extends out from his stomach. The gutsnake strikes at Breca and grapples the dwarf, crushing the life from him and scalding him with flames. Luckily, the dwarf had the foresight to ward himself from fire and flames have little effect. Argent unleashes a swarm of magic missiles on the wizard, but finds him magically shielded, causing the spell explode harmlessly off the mage’s abjuration. Arrows are launched at Argent from the snakemen, but with his powerful protective magic only one lucky shot has harms him. Breca can do little against the gut snake, though he does try to cast a dimension door to escape, but is unable to concentrate and loses the spell.
Suddenly, Jaheria bursts out of the water and flies at the deadly wizard attacking with her holy Shimo Koa. He seems to have some kind of damage reduction that offers some protection, but her blows still cause him pain. He retaliates by blasting her with an electic orb, while the snakemen on the deck try to aid him by magically suggesting she throw her weapon into the sea. She resists the urges and continues to pound on the wizard. He is soon forced to use magic to escape and he vanishes, leaving a badly wounded Breca to land with a thud on the deck. The heroes turn their attention on the snakemen archers and it doesn’t take long to dispatch them. Things are quiet on the deck and Breca and Jaheria waste no time. They dive back into the water and make their way towards the next ship.
Argent observes for a bit longer using his see invisibility spell. His patience pays off and suddenly the flying wizard emerges from behind the ship. He seems to have healed extensively and is invisibly (though not to Argent). He decides to ignore Argent, possibly thinking the air gensai can’t see him. The wizard flies towards shore to join the attack. Argent flies after him and tries to dispel the magic on him. His attempts fail, and the wizard uses the same tactic against Argent with much better results. Argent drifts towards the water, his fly spell gone. The wizard scoffs and turns his attention towards Farshore, raising his wand to unleash more flaming death.
And here is the final portion of the battle for Farshore. In all its ugly glory.
PCs
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 2
Czar: Human, male, Monk 1/Barbarian 7/BearWarrior 1 (died at the hands of savage mutant pirates, raised from the dead)
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Fighter 1/Swashbuckler 3/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 3
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 3.
Jaheira: Deathtouched, fighter 9.
Yvy Sparks: Human, female, sorcerer 6/Malconvoker 3 (Alex's replacement character for Czar)
Deek the Virtuous: Human, male, Fighter 1/Paladin 6 (NPC support, Michael's old PC)
The pirates push their way forward towards the barricades, and Lavinia and Deek arrive on the scene to see how the defenses are holding. Czar, Veldrin and the Olmans are doing a good job of holding back the attackers when suddenly the fireballs start reigning down again. One lands among the defenders, blasting Czar and Veldrin and slaughtering several Olman warriors. A few seconds later another ball of fire hits the same spot, leaving Czar and Veldrin terribly wounded. Luckily Argent, tries to come to the rescue. He levitates out of the water and then uses his benign transpostion spell to swap places with his parrot familiar who is fluttering around near the docks. Argent, now on the docks and looking out at the harbor, sees the mage hovering in the air over the water with his wand, and opens on up on him with adamantine crossbow bolts. They prove effective, and draw the mage’s attention.
Czar is horrifically burned and has no healing left; Veldrin’s healing is also nearly expended, so Czar flees to seek out Vessarlin Catherly the village priest. Yvy the conjurer from the Jade Ravens happens to arrive on the scene about the same time, and with her is a Chain Devil that she bound to aid them in the fight. Deek seethes with anger, as he can’t abide by mages summoning unholy creatures. However, given the circumstances he keeps his attention focused on slaying the pirates. It is about this time that the heroes hear a voice from above. “Lavinia! Long time, no see; you look a little worse for wear. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll get you cleaned up.”
The group looks up and they see man flying in the air above them. Well, he probably used to be a man. He now has bat like wings sprouting from his back and a prehensile tail with a stinger. The man resembles the portraits of Lavinia’s brother Vanthus, but seems to have undergone some kind of demonic transformation. The fiend is ready for combat; he is wearing mithril and has a nasty looking scimitar and sickle. Lavinia curses, horrified to see what her brother has become. He in turn casts a spell at her attempting to dominate her, but her strong will overcomes the spell.
The heroes find themselves in a tough situation. The pirates are pressing them. Deek has no ranged weapons. Yvy has spells, but has already used most of her most potent ones. Veldrin has no real ranged weapons and his magic is nearly expended; furthermore none of his undead minions are capable of flight. Argent has ranged weapons but is busy fighting the enemy wizard. Vanthus scoffs at them and magically suggests that the group leave his sister alone and go wash themselves in the harbor. Deek and Yvy are able to resist, but Veldrin fails and races for the pier. He hurls himself into the harbor and begins trying to wash the charred flesh from his body.
The mage responds to Argent’s crossbow bolts with fireballs from his wand. Argent tries to dodge them as best he can but sustains enough burns that he has to retreat for cover in the warehouse where he can drink his healing potions. Deek decides to try to aid Veldrin and moves toward the water. Unfortunately he is now exposed, and as he tries to help drag the zombie master out of the water the fireballs start dropping on them.
Yvy is pretty much left to defend Lavinia on her own. She casts a glitterdust spell that manages to not only penetrate the half fiend’s spell resistance, but also blind him. Vanthus flies higher into the sky and reaches into a satchel hanging from his side. From the satchel he removes a large black pearl, bigger than a man’s fist. He holds the pearl in the air and shouts out, “Back off you wretched bastards or I will drop this, and you don’t want that!”
Meanwhile, Jaheria and Breca arrive at the fourth ship. For this vessel they try a different tactic. Since the launches have already been deployed and only a tiny crew remains on board, they decide to land on deck and slaughter some pirates. The pair go up against about a half dozen of the scallywags, but find them little match for Breca’s dvine fury and Jaheria’s holy weapon. A couple of them land lucky shots on the duo, but it isn’t long before the pirate corpses are sprawled across the deck. Only one ships remains, so they fly for it.
Having healed himself, Argent moves to the doorway of the warehouse that looks out toward the harbor. He has a clear view of the wizard dropping fireballs on Veldrin and Deek, so he opens up with his crossbow. The mage again turns towards Argent and launches another ball of flame at him. Luckily the warehouse provides cover and shields him from much of the blast. Veldrin, however, has not fared so well. The last blast he sustained was enough to knock him unconscious and he starts to sink beneath the water. Deek leaps in after him, fully equipped with banded male and a shield. He starts to sink like a stone.
Yvy, who has been left to deal with Vanthus on her own, thanks the gods that he is blind and that the her summoned minions (which now include a howler, as well as the chain devil) have finished off the remaining pirates attacking her and Lavinia. She decides to summon a giant spider on the roof of the warehouse, hoping that it might be able to snag him or the pearl with a web. Unfortunately, Vanthus has been flying up higher into the air, and is well above the reach of the spider’s web attack. Not sure what to do, Yvy decides to go with an old stand by. She launches a magic missile barrage at Vanthus. Again she manages to bypass his spell resistance, and the missiles blast against him. He cries out in pain and rage. His hand opens and the pearl plummets to the ground. It lands on the roof of the warehouse- shattering! A noxious, yellow, acidic gas starts to gush out from where it shattered scorching the summoned spider.
Finally Argent is able to force the wizard to fly off, due to his deadly crossbow, and he is able to turn his attention on Vanthus. He trades his crossbow for his outsider bane longbow, and starts lauching arrows at the fiend. Vanthus howls, still blind from the glitterdust, as the bane arrows sink into his flesh. Yvy continues to blast at him with her own spells, but only a few get past his spell resistance. Unable to fight back, due to his blindness, Vanthus stays in the air and drinks healing potions.
Deek who is sinking, reaches the nearly dead Veldrin and uses his lay on hands power to revive Veldrin. He then grabs onto one of the pier’s posts and drags himself towards the surface. Veldrin swims up and casts an air walk spell on Deek. The paladin suddenly walks out of the water and into the sky. He draws his blade and moves towards Vanthus, determined to slay the half fiend. Veldrin is left behind, still injured, with virtually no spells remaining. He tries without success to haul himself out of the water.
Deek reaches Vanthus and begins slashing him with his sword, as Yvy and Argent keep hammering him from the ground. Vanthus in turn retaliates against Deek, fighting with sickle and sword in a terrible flurry of slashes. He is still unable to see and only one lucky attack cuts into Deek. By now Vanthus is terribly injured, and a final barrage of arrows, magic missiles and sword slashes takes the half fiend down. His body plummets towards the ground and crashes onto the roof of the warehouse.
At this very moment there is a sudden thunderous explosion from the shattered pearl. A wave of a magical energy radiates outward extending out to about a mile in all directions. As the magic passes over the heroes they feel rage surge through their minds, rage followed by homicidial mania. Luckily, they have strong wills are able to fight off the madness that seeks to overcome them. The rest of Farshore isn’t so lucky. As the light of dawn spreads across the harbor, the heroes look about and see the true horror that the magic has wrought. Olmans, pirates, and miltia alike all begin undergoing a terrible transformation. In seconds they are no longer human, but have become clawed and fanged horrors, covered with unnatural boils, tumors and even more horrific mutations. Here and there some have resisted the change, but the savage creatures turn their attention on those “lucky” few like frenzied sharks. Lavinia can do nothing but scream in agony as she sees the colony she has invested so much in instantly turned into a nightmare from the abyss.
On the final ship, Breca and Jaheria have just finished slaying the last small group of pirates and are about to return to the village to aid the defenders, when they see the magical explosion detonate on the shore. It washes over them, filling the pair with rage, but they too manage to stave off the unholy transformation, and the rage passes. As Breca regains his wits, he looks towards Farshore and sees the horror that has overcome the colony. All hope flees from his body. The worst possible fate has been inflicted on Farshore.
DMs Notes: Czar was off stage when the pearl detonated, but he failed his save, so he is now a mutant. The DC for the save was pretty low, so combined with action point usage the rest of the party were all able to make their saves. I didn't land any true kills in this fight, which was disappointing, though I had multiple PCs within a hair of their lives, which is satisfying. I could have trashed them if I had started kept the Vrocks together, so that all three attacked Jaheria and Breca and then went on to deal with the other PCs. However, I decided that this tactic would have been just too cruel and might not have made for a fun game, especially seeing how I started the fight with them. I could also have likely landed a couple of kills if I had kept all four of the flesh golems together instead of using only two, but to me it made sense that they would be dispersed along the docks. As it stands there are still a pair of them roving around among all those mutants.
I was very happy with how well the Yuan Ti wizard performed. The gutsnake, combined with Balor Nimbus turned out to be an awesome combination that surely would have killed Breca if Jaheria hadn't managed to save him. Even so, the wizard survived and escaped with all his gear. Furthermore, he used every single one of his spells (which is damn impressive for a villain in this game) and even after that he still kicked the crap out of the party for several more rounds with his wand, forcing Czar to flee the fight and nearly killing Veldrin and Argent. I was very pleased, though I wish he had dropped one of them. In the end he proved far more dangerous than Vanthus- okay not really since Vanthus detonated the pearl. I had really only pulled out the pearl to try to buy Vanthus some time to let the glitterdust spell wear off, but the stupid sorcerer just had to go and magic missile him. That will teach her.
Stupid sorceror ... roflmao ... how appropriate a statement.
I would have used the vrocks as a gang-bang tag-team myself ... and shall plan to do so, since thier Dance of Ruin is the most fun ... nyuknyuknyuk.
Still, yes your yuan-ti wizard was impressively brutal, my hat is off to you sir, for carnage well wrought and an NPC royally rendered into a basket case ... her brother slain, her family's hopes and dreams smashed flat in a savage tide ... good times.
I concur that I could have used the vrocks more brutally, but it would have truely been a slaughter then, and probably not fun for my players.
Stupid sorceror ... roflmao ... how appropriate a statement.
I would have used the vrocks as a gang-bang tag-team myself ... and shall plan to do so, since thier Dance of Ruin is the most fun ... nyuknyuknyuk.
Still, yes your yuan-ti wizard was impressively brutal, my hat is off to you sir, for carnage well wrought and an NPC royally rendered into a basket case ... her brother slain, her family's hopes and dreams smashed flat in a savage tide ... good times.
I concur that I could have used the vrocks more brutally, but it would have truely been a slaughter then, and probably not fun for my players.
Stupid sorceror ... roflmao ... how appropriate a statement.
I would have used the vrocks as a gang-bang tag-team myself ... and shall plan to do so, since thier Dance of Ruin is the most fun ... nyuknyuknyuk.
Still, yes your yuan-ti wizard was impressively brutal, my hat is off to you sir, for carnage well wrought and an NPC royally rendered into a basket case ... her brother slain, her family's hopes and dreams smashed flat in a savage tide ... good times.
Oh, I am by no means begrudging your deployments of the vrocks ... they just happen to be one of my sentimental favorite demons, and of course, being demons, I don't get to 'drive' them very often.
So, while for your game the nightmare villian was the yuan-ti wizard, I suspect mine will be the vrocks.
Oh, and of course good ol' Vanthy, who is about to bestow my player group with a matching set of a certain girdle ...
Well I do like the Vrocks as well. One of my players who has been around several years longer than the others commented on that in the game session. He was like "f@++ing Vrocks, man Drew loves the Vroks. Vroks and trolls. I have to go with trolls though. I have a soft spot for them, they are my fav. Though I like ettins too, but mostly for the humor that can ensue for having two heads, but trolls have the regenerating humor so it evens out.
I did actually want the lone Vrok to rejoin the flock and do a dance of ruin, but he got hit with the dimensional anchor, and the when he tried to fly off I forgot to do a tactical retreat and he got nailed with an attack of opportunity. Oh well. I'll find another chance somewhere up the road.
I concur that I could have used the vrocks more brutally, but it would have truely been a slaughter then, and probably not fun for my players.
Stupid sorceror ... roflmao ... how appropriate a statement.
I would have used the vrocks as a gang-bang tag-team myself ... and shall plan to do so, since thier Dance of Ruin is the most fun ... nyuknyuknyuk.
Still, yes your yuan-ti wizard was impressively brutal, my hat is off to you sir, for carnage well wrought and an NPC royally rendered into a basket case ... her brother slain, her family's hopes and dreams smashed flat in a savage tide ... good times.
Oh, I am by no means begrudging your deployments of the vrocks ... they just happen to be one of my sentimental favorite demons, and of course, being demons, I don't get to 'drive' them very often.
So, while for your game the nightmare villian was the yuan-ti wizard, I suspect mine will be the vrocks.
Oh, and of course good ol' Vanthy, who is about to bestow my player group with a matching set of a certain girdle ...
I eagerly anticipate that moment good sir ... as I personally eagerly await the chances to sicc fiendish (or savage ... or savage-fiendish) rhagodessa upon my meat snacks ... er, PCs ... man, I adore those bugs...
PCs
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 2
Czar: Human, male, Monk 1/Barbarian 7/BearWarrior 1 (died at the hands of savage mutant pirates, raised from the dead, has since been tranformed into a savage creature and now killed by the PCs- a strange cycle, quite ironic)
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Fighter 1/Swashbuckler 3/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 3
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 3.
Jaheira: Deathtouched, fighter 9.
Yvy Sparks: Human, female, sorcerer 6/Malconvoker 3 (Alex's replacement character for Czar)
Deek the Virtuous: Human, male, Fighter 1/Paladin 6 (NPC support, Michael's old PC)
Game Session #17 (After the Pearl): After the detonation of the shadow pearl Jaheria and Breca hurry back towards Farshore from the ship. Jaheria is flying with Breca clinging to her shoulders. En route they encounter the nasty wizard making a flying retreat. Upon seeing him, Breca unleashes a sound lance spell, but as it turns out Veldrin had cast a silence spell on the wizard (which was the reason for the retreat). The sonic lances dies upon entering the zone of silence, having no effect on the mage. Jaheria flies in with Breca clinging to her back and starts laying into him with shattering blows from her holy shimo koa. Upon closing she sees that he too has been affected by the Savage Tide and transformed into a mutant freak. He bites at her with his toothed maw, but is unable to bypass her dino hide armour, and in seconds she has beaten him to a pulp, as his body starts to descend towards the water she catches onto it, and the pair quickly loot him, and then discard the corpse in the ocean.
Meanwhile, back on shore from their high vantage points, the levitated Argent and air walking Deek see Vessarlin Catherly (the village priest), Professer Aldwattle (village mage and alchemist), and Weldan Peg Leg (one of Breca’s former crew) making their way towards the docks. Professor Aldwattle seems to be injured and is having some trouble moving; Vessarlin and Weldan seem to be trying to help him. The trio is being pursued by a mutated, savage Czar and a pack of savage Olman warriors. Czar shouts out to Vessarlin in his accent, calling, “I is still hurt Catherly, give more healing. Then I eat your face!”
Deek charges across the air to intercept them. At the same time a beserking flesh golem lumbers towards Veldrin and Lavinia who are near the piers and the warehouse the shadow pearl detonated on. As soon as it reaches the warhouse it starts tearing it apart, and as it does so a pack of savage pirates comes running past it shrieking and yelping as they surge towards the sight of human flesh. Lavinia hurries onto the pier and hops into a waiting lauch. Veldrin sends “mother” after her, and then moves behind his hulking zombie gambol. Then the zombie blocks off the pier, forcing the pirates to have to fight their way through it to reach warm flesh. Next, Veldrin applies negative energy to the creature, healing it for battle.
Argent stays in the air with his levitate spell and starts firing crossbow bolts down at the pirates and Yvy, who is also down on the ground makes use of magic missiles to start blasting away at savage foes. Czar and the Olmans catch up to Vessarlin, Weldan and Aldlewattle before Deek can reach them. The mutants manage to tear apart Vessarlin, but Deek arrives in time to save Aldwattle and Weldan. To help, Yvy enlarges Deek, but he is still no match for Czar and the savage olmans. Czar quickly pins him in a grapple and starts to tear him limb from limb. This buys Weldan and Aldwattle the time to duck into the warehouse, slamming the door shut behind them and barring it.
The savage pirates begin assaulting Veldrin’s zombie, but Veldrin is an expert corpse crafter and his zombie holds up well, smashing them with great slams from its fists. The Olman warriors also detour around the warehouse and find Yvy, while Czar finishes off brave Deek. Poor Deek, he was brave we will give him that. As they round the corner and race towards Yvy, she realizes she is in a dire situation. In a desperate plan she casts a disguise self spell on herself and tries to impersonate a savage creature. The ruse succeeds and they think she is one of their own. They continue to the docks where they see Aldwattle and Weldan hurrying towards a second pier, with a second pirate launch waiting, in hopes of making an escape.
Somewhere around this time Breca and Jaheria arrive on the scene. They land on the roof of the warehouse. Breca tosses Argent the fireball wand he recovered from the slain wizard, and Jaheria decides to start smashing away at the golem that seems so intent on wrecking the warehouse. Argent is quite pleased to have this new weapon and starts unleashing flaming death on the savage pirates. They seem however to be quite proficient at dodging fireballs and many easily hurl themselves clear of the blasts- but not all of them. The smell of charred flesh starts to permeat the smokey air.
The pack of Olman zombies set their eyes on Aldwattle and Weldan who are trying to get into the boat. As they shove off the savage creatures reach the end of the pier. Two make the jump into the rowboat. One misses and falls in the water, and two more are about to leap when Aldwattle and Weldan dive overboard, and Argent lands a fireball right on the pier. The fireball destroys some of the savage olmans, but Aldwattle and Weldan are just clear of the blast, though their boat is now a shattered, flaming ruin. Breca sets about trying to kill Czar, who is also hurrying to the pier to look for fresh meat. The dwarf manages to drop his former companion with a well placed soundlance, and Czar explodes in a cloud of acid (as do all other savage creatures who are destroyed).
Veldrin, Lavinia and mother are by now in out in the harbor in their boat, and with the help of Argent’s new wand, the zombie gambol has nearly finished off the remaining savage pirates. Yvy finds herself out of danger for the moment, so she leaps into the water and starts swimming towards their boat.
By this time the battle is wrapping up; the last of the pirates is felled by Veldrin’s zombie, and the Olmans have been finished off by Argent’s flaming barrage. Weldan and Aldwattle are struggling to swim, but Veldrin and Lavinia soon come to their aid and help them out of the water. Argent joins the group in the boat, and they start rowing back towards the ships. Argent is intent on searching the ship the wizard was on before it fully sinks, hoping to find the mage’s spellbook.
Jaheria has a mission of her own. She has a consort named Buranwa that was bequeathed to her on her last visit to Tanora by the zombie mistress. She left him behind to fight on shore, and wishes to know his fate. Breca decides to stay with her, hoping to slay as many savage creatures as he can.
Hey P.H., AWESOME!
I couldn't begin to envision a better way to drive home that the characters screwed up royally. Of course this will only make them all the more eager to get revenge.
PH, Turin, something truly frightening to consider (as if a Savage Barbarian/Bear Warrior isn't bad enough), a Savage Frenzied Berserker...
Too bad that Czar didn't take anyone down with him though. That would have pushed the tragic angle even farther.
A well done fray if I say so myself. Well done.
Well Czar did take down Deek the paladin, but the thing about savage creatues is that they aren't all that dangerous if you can stay in the air above them and attack them with missile weapons and spells. It's getting into melee with them that you ideally want to avoid. Most of my players did a good job of this. Though in retrospect I should have made him climb up on the warehouse roof and go after Breca, Czar was a good climber.
Hey P.H., AWESOME!
I couldn't begin to envision a better way to drive home that the characters screwed up royally. Of course this will only make them all the more eager to get revenge.
PH, Turin, something truly frightening to consider (as if a Savage Barbarian/Bear Warrior isn't bad enough), a Savage Frenzied Berserker...
Too bad that Czar didn't take anyone down with him though. That would have pushed the tragic angle even farther.A well done fray if I say so myself. Well done.
Here's a few more details about the PCs of this campaign
Breca Ansparr: (Sea cliff, Dwarf, cleric/demonwreker)
Character Concept: Dwarven merchant sea captain/sea cleric turned demon hunter
Breca grew up in Gradsul where his family works with a Hill dwarf clan from Ulek called the Foegrims. The Angsparrs ship iron and iron goods from Ulek to Gradsul and return with textiles and food. The dwarven consortium has in recent years decided to seek out new markets, which is why Breca was sent to Sasserine, where he became a cleric of Procan.
Breca is the only original party member left. For the sake of campaign continuity I haven't been going out of my way to kill him, but I my softspot for him isn't too soft. His player is one of the best role players in the group, and Breca has become the nominal party leader.
Argent: (Air Gensai, Fighter/Swashbukler/Wizard/Abjurant Champion)
Character Concept: Gish
Argent is the son of an exiled Genie named Shiva. Shiva is a resident of the pirate Isles and worshipped by a local Olman tribe. Shiva has an incredible labido and has a massive harem and has sired many gensai offspring. Shiva has allowed a pirate town called Lustport to develop on his island. It exists at his will, and the pirates have had to be on their best behaviour when visiting. Argent was raised a pirate, but his clever captain (Harliss Javel) had been good at disguising their ship as a merchant vessel and the crew he was with would from time to time make port in some of the cities of the Azure sea. In Gradsul, he learned of a school called the GrayMalkin accademy that specialized in the mergence of the martial with the arcane. He spent some time here began to learn the ways of the abjurant champion. In addition Argent managed to land Harliss as his lady for a time. Until he one day offended her for cheating on her while in a port town. She was bitter, and decided to maroon him on the Isle of Dread. The gods must love him because he somehow made it to Farshore and joined the colonists.
Argent's player is my resident munchkin power gamer. He spends far too much time on various optimization web boards, and is constantly coming up with new "backup" character concepts that use far too many splat books. None the less he is an enthusiastic and devouted player.
Yvy Sparks: (Human, female, Sorcerer/Malconvoker)
Character Concept: Summoner
Yvy is the daughter of very powerful mage who lives on Avnernus (Nine Hells). He wanted a son, but got her. He permitted her to live, but as little more than a slave. Her mother eventually smuggled her to the material plane where she started a new life for herself. She joined the Jade Ravens and became a retainer of the Vanderboren family. She met the heroes through Lavinia, and had continued to serve with the Jade Ravens until recently (ie when they were all killed or turned savage in the battle of Farshore).
Yvy's player formerly ran Czar and Yvy was his backup character. With Czar's second death, Yvy has become a new PC.
Vel'drin (Human, Olman, male, Cleric/zombie master)
Character Concept: Olman zombie master
Vel'drin is the zombie master of Mora. He has joined the PCs out of circumstance. He is a master at the creation of zombies and skeletons. He has recently animated a gambol that is his toughest zombie minion. He also takes his mother with him wherever he goes. "Mother" is the animated skeleton of his dead mom, and he dresses her in Olman finery and often speaks to her and dotes on her (it is creepy).
Vel'drin's player formerly ran the young ranger/horizon walker Randal, but after Randal was torn to pieces by Olangru he brought in Vel'drin. We both agree that Ved'drin is a much more interesting character. He and Breca are my two favourite characters.
Jaheria (Human, "Deathtouched, Olman, fighter)
Character Concept: Amazon tank, warrior
Jaheria is Vel'drin's sister and a death touched. Death touched are Olmans who are born from zombie masters. Sometimes the children of the zombie masters are tainted by the necromantic energy that infuses their parent. This taint manifests itself by giving them a strangely necrotic look. It also gives them strength, darkvision and a resitance to poisons. However, they are feared and shunned and tend to be a little dull witted. Their are only about forty deathtouched in existence. They dwell in a small colony at the heart of the Olman pennisula and are usually only visited by the zombie masters. They train as elite warriors for the Olman people. Jaheria is very loyal to her brother.
Jaheria's player originally played Deek the paladin. He had to leave the campaign just after the first adventure due to real life commitments. Deek was retired to NPC status and became a member of the Jade Ravens and Lavinia's personal bodyguard. Recently the player returned to the game, but instead of continuing with Deek he made Jaheria. He normally plays a mage, and I am concerned he will grow bored of playing a fighter, but with the death of Czar, Jaheria is the only real front line fighter. I've mentioned the totemic demonslayer prestige class and Jaheria is patiently holding out to take it.
For details on party composition see Game Session 17 part 1.
Game Session 17 part 2 (After the Pearl): Jaheria has a mission of her own. She has a consort named Buranwa that was bequeathed to her on her last visit to Tanora by the zombie mistress. When the battle for Farshore began she left him behind to fight on shore, and wishes to know his fate. Breca decides to stay with her, hoping to slay as many savage creatures as he can.
From her arial vantage point Jaheria spots her consort Buranwa and a couple of other Olman warriors who survived the tide hurrying towards the docks. They of course are being pursued by a rabid pack of savage pirates. Jaheria swoops down and lands among them. With little regard for her personal safety the warrior woman begins smashing them to pulp with her Shimo-Koa, as she destroys them they detonate in explosions of acidic vapours that burn her flesh. She ignores the burning pain and keeps on swinging. Her bravery buys the Olmans time to dive into the water and swim for the rowboat. Breca lends his aid by casting a holy storm spell above them. The holy rain pours down from above, soothing Jaheria’s burns and scalding the savage creatures as if it were acid. The storm is enough to disperse the mob and send them running in all directions.
Pleased that Buranwa is safe, Jaheria and Breca fly to other parts of the colony, searching for Savage creatures to destroy. Near the church they find their targets. It seems that a group of survivors has barricaded themselves inside the church, and a group of savage colonists is trying to break down the doors. The band is led by Lord Manthalay and Tolin of the Jade Ravens; both these men have been transformed. Breca opens up on them with another holy storm, but Manthalay bashes down the doors to the church seconds later, and the mutants herd inside escaping the rain before great damage can be dealt against them. Jaheria and Breca fly in after them. Breca lands on the rafters and readies yet another holy storm (recovered from his pearl of power I think). Unfortunately, the savages are fast killers, and they tear apart the few colonists huddled in the corner in seconds.
Breca unleashes his storm, and the mutants have nowhere to run. Jaheria hurls a bola and entangles Tolin. While he is dealing with the bola she swoops in and starts smashing Manthalay. The fight doesn’t last long. Jaheria and Breca are full of fury this day, and the savage creatures soon fall, including Manthalay and Tolin. Jaheria is worse for wear having sustainted extensive acid wounds, but she lives. With no other large bands of savage critters to attack, the pair fly back to the Brine Harlot where they will rendezvous with the rest of the party.
The Brine Harlot is the flagship vessel of the pirate ships. It is fully seaworthy and well appointed. Here the heroes regroup. Argent has recovered the spellbook. It is sealed in a forcechest and he finds himself unable to access it for the time being, but he is confident that the magic will eventually collapse. The Brine Harlot offers other usful information. In the captain’s quarters (Vanthus’s) they find a log written by Vanthus. They also find several sea charts including maps of the pirate isles to the north, and a map of the harbor of the infamous pirate port town of Scuttlecove.
The following entries in Vanthus’s log are of particular interest:
They trials and tests are over, the transformation complete. I have been to Abyss and back, but now I am a new man. I can feel the power, strength, and desire; it burns in me in way I could never have imagined. My new form is magnificent, and I can’t wait to show my sister. She needs to feel it to,
Captain Wyther has given me a ship to captain. She’s called the Brine Harlot. We set sail in a few days. The first task we have been charged with is an expedition to the Isle of Dread. There I will pick up a shipment of those nasty black pearls. I’m not sure exactly what Wyther has planned for them, but it is not my place to ask such questions, and I’m not sure I want to know the answer. The task suites me just fine. We’ll be passing near Farshore, and from my understanding Lavinia has headed that way. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees me. I’ve even convinced Wyther to give me some other ships to help make an attack on the colony. Hopefully there will be enough plunder to make it worthwhile or he won’t be happy, and he is not one to be on the bad side of. I’ve heard some of the meddlesome adventures she’s sponsored are with her. I guess they escaped my little trap back on Parrot Island or perhaps she has some new henchmen. I did hear that Lady Lotus was killed and the guild laid low. No matter- opportunity here has far more potential than what she had to offer. Regardless, I’m not taking any chances.
The fleet has a cut a deal with the Yuan Ti faction here, and they’ve agreed to send a wizard and a couple of their lesser agents to help ensure victory. I had hoped for a cadre of their assassins, as they are much more talented, but I shouldn’t complain. The wizard seems competent enough, and he has a band of Flesh Golems at his command, which will certainly make for a valuable asset. Futhermore, he has scrying magic, and I have a lock of Lavinia’s hair and a locket with her picture. He says that both of the items will make the magic much more effective. I can’t wait to catch a glimpse of her again. My blood boils just thinking about it.
Excerpt #2
We reached Gallivant’s cove with no incident, although the Seventh Coil yuan-ti renewed their demands for shore leave. I denied them again, promising them all the leave they could want once my sister’s little project is mine. Payment to the Glutton went smoothly (that beast’s teeth would make fine trophies!), and I personally led a group of five to the caves. The trogs looked worse than they stank- some sort of malady afflicts them for certain. Lords of Dread? Hardly. Yet they took our payments and slaves readily enough.
There was one shadow pearl ready for us. I made clear my displeasure, but the simpering lepers convinced that they were being truthful, and promised me several more in a few months time. I’ve tried to avoid staring at the pearl overmuch. Its depths are hypnotic. After seeing the number one of these little beauties did on Kraken’s Cove, I make sure to keep it in a padded container at all times.
It’s too bad we can’t just toss the thing into Farshore with a catapult and let them kill each other off, but I’ll not be the one to tell command we broke another one of their toys!
After reading these chilling revelations much discussion occurs. It is decided that the source of the Shadow Pearls must be dealt with. Lavinia is horrified by the prospect of a shadow pearl being detonated in a major population centre, and the thought of more of them being created and put into the hands of the Crimson Fleet chills her to the bone.
However, there is much to be done before this quest is undertaken. The party feels a desperate need to take some time to regroup and lick their wounds. To start with Breca contacts Jahindi- the leader of the phanaton warband, via a sending spell. He gets a response, and it seems that some of the colonists had fled out the escape tunnel and into the jungle when the blast hit. They were outside its range, but are now being hunted by savage creatures. Breca urges them to meet him at the coast as soon as they can, and he sets sail to find them.
The heroes are lucky, and they manage to recover a group of about thirty colonists and eight phanatons. The rest of the civilians have been turned savage or are dead. The Brine Harlot is loaded to capacity and sets sail for a settlement called Rat’s End. Rat’s End is a village located on an island not far off the west coast of the Isle of Dread. It is where the pirates who first attacked Farshore came from, and since those pirates are all dead it stands to reason that Rat’s End should be empty.
They find that it is indeed abandoned. There is nothing more than a few run down huts that were made from derelict ships. It is a start though, and the colonists decide that this will be their new base of operations for now.
Simply great. I have to say, that while I am fully intending to run Age of Worms here soon, I must admit to having second thoughts. Simply due to all the wonderful stories I keep hearing (such as your P.H.) about Savage Tide.
AoW seems more of a standard adventuring campaign (which I do like)
ST seems quirky and irregular in its presentation and challenges (which I like too!) Damn, its so hard to decide.
Thanks for the complements. I was torn between this decision myself. I liked Age of Worms, but Demogorgon is my favourite dnd villain, and I like that the time line wasn't quite so tight in Savage Tide. Age of Worms is a little too fast and furious in its pace for my liking. Savage Tide starts to get this way a bit as well towards the end, but I like that there are gaps of down time, where the PCs can take a couple of months to do their own thing without feeling horribly rushed to save the world.
That being said I'm not sure how I feel about Well's of Darkness or Into the Maw. For some reason I'm just not that excited about either of those adventures. I can't wait to run the next three adventures (especially Serpents of Scuttlecove) and I am itching to run Enemies of my Enemies and the grand finale. The furthest I've made it with a campaign is 16th level, so finishing Savage Tide will be a great achievement for me as a DM. I really hope to see this through to the end.
Simply great. I have to say, that while I am fully intending to run Age of Worms here soon, I must admit to having second thoughts. Simply due to all the wonderful stories I keep hearing (such as your P.H.) about Savage Tide.
AoW seems more of a standard adventuring campaign (which I do like)
ST seems quirky and irregular in its presentation and challenges (which I like too!) Damn, its so hard to decide.
Here's some posts of current PC builds
Vel'drin
Human, Male (Olman), Cleric 6/ Zombie-Master 4, Alignment:LN Diety:Varied (some ties to the Olman God of Death)
Looks, 6”3, 196p, 24 years old
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
HD: 10d8+20, HP (70)
AC: 22(+5 Hide Armor, +4 Animated Heavy-wooden Shield, +1 Ring of Protection, +2 Dex), Armour Check Penalty: -3
Touch 12 , Flatfooted 20
Initiative: +2, Speed: 20 ft.
Languages: Common (Olman), Common (Sasserine), Draconic
Senses: Spot +5, Listen +5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
Base Attack: +7/+2 Grapple: +7, Ranged Attack: +9/+4
Melee Attack: +8/+3 Olman Sword, 1d8+1 (slashing), 1d6+1 (bludgeoning), (19-20/x2)
+8/+3 Obsidian Dagger, 1d4+1, 10ft, (19-20/x2)
Ranged Attack: +9/+4 Blowgun, 1d2, 20ft, (x2)
Saving Throws: Fortitude +11, Reflex +5, Will +14
Attributes: Str 11 (0), Dex 14 (2), Con 15 (2), Int 14 (2), Wis 19 (+2)(5), Cha 15 (+2)(3)
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Class Features: Dark-vision (60ft), Aura, Rebuke Undead (+1 level), Ghoul Touch, Animate Dead, Zone of Desecration, Death Domain, Strength Domain
Feats: Corpse-crafter, Deadly Chill, Hardened Flesh, Daunting Presence, Dodge, Improved Unarmed-strike
Skills: Concentration 12(10+2), Diplomacy 13(10+3), Heal 10(5+5),
Intimidation 10(5+5), Knowledge (arcana) 7(5+2), Knowledge (history) 7(5+2), Knowledge (religion) 11(9+2), Knowledge (Planes) 5(3+2), Perform (oratory) 8(5+3), Spell-craft 7(5+2), Speak-Language (Common Sasserine)
Skill Synergies: Knowledge (arcana) 5 gives +2 Spell-craft
Knowledge (religion) 5 = +2 on Turn or Rebuke undead attempts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
Possessions: Zombie-Master Tribal-garb, Hide Water-flask, Pouch, Black Oynx gems (400 gp worth), Blowgun, Darts (40) (Vial Black Adder-venom (DC11, 1d6 Con) (Vial of Small Centipede-poison (DC11,1d2 dex)
Magic Possessions: +1 Olman Sword, +1 Obsidian Dagger, +2 Hide Armor, +2 Animated Heavy-wooden Shield, +1 Ring of Protection, +2 Cloak of Charisma, +2 Periapt of Wisdom
Consumables: Mage Armor ( ), Wand of Cure Light Wounds ( ), Wand of Aid ( )
Feats:
(Check Libris Mortis for reference)
Corpse-crafter: +4 Str and +2 HP per HD to Animated Undead
Deadly Chill: Animated Undead deal 1d6 cold damage with successful natural weapon attack.
Hardened Flesh: Animated Undead gain +2 AC
Daunting Presence: As a standard action, attempt to awe an opponent within 30 foot line of sight, opponent must have Int score. (Will save DC 10, +1 Character Level /2, +Cha)
If successful, creature is shaken for 10 minutes.
Dodge: +1 AC on chosen opponent.
Domains Powers:
Death Touch 1 per day: Touch attack, roll 1d6 per cleric level you possess. If the total at least equals the creature’s current hit points, it dies (no save).
Feat of Strength 1 per day: You gain a bonus to Strength equal to your cleric level. Activating the power is a free action, the power lasts 1 round.
Special Abilities:
Ghoul Touch 1 per day: Caster level is equal to the total level of his spell-casting classes. The save DC for this spell is modified by the zombie masters wisdom bonus. Creature's in 10 foot radius become sickened (fortitude negates)
Animate Dead 1 per day: Spell-like ability.
Zone of Desecration: Allied undead within 20ft aura gain, -3 when being turned, +1 to attack, damage and saving rolls. Undead created or summoned within 20ft aura gain +1 HP per HD.
Rebuke Undead:
+1 on attempts (Olman Cleric)
Knowledge (religion) 5 = +2 on Turn or Rebuke undead attempts
6 Rebuke attempts per day
Spells per day:
5 Domain Spells
0: 6
1: 6
2: 5
3: 4
4: 3
5: 2
Argent
Air Genesai, Male, LV 10; Fighter 1 / Swashbuckler 3 / Wizard 2 / Abjurant Champion 4, Alignment: CG, Deity: Lastia
HD: 8d10 + 2d4 + 20, HP: 84
AC: 14 unarmored (+4 Dex)
31 (+9 Luminous Armor, +8 Shield, +4 Dex)
14 Touch, 27 Flatfooted
Initiative: +4, Speed: 30 ft.
Languages: Common, Olman, Draconic, Auran
Senses: Spot +1, Listen +1, Search +3
Base Attack: +9; Grapple: +10; Ranged Attack: +13
Melee Attacks: 14/9 Rapier +1, 1d6+7; 18-20/x2 Crit
Ranged Attacks: 15/10 Deathwand Crossbow, 1d8+2; 19-20/x2 Crit; 80 ft.
14/9 Demonbane Longbow+1, 1d8+1; x3 Crit, 110 ft. +3 & +2d6 dmg vs Demons
Saving Throws: Fortitude +8, Reflex +6, Will +7
Attributes: Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 8
Special Abilities: Darkvision 60 ft, Levitate, Blur, Breathless, Find Familiar, Insightful Strike, Abjurant Armor, Extend Abjuration, Swift Abjuration, Arcane Boost
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Improved Levitation, Weapon Finesse, Rapid Reload, Alertness, Scribe Scroll, Combat Casting, Craft Wand
Skills (13 ranks): Balance [5] +11; Bluff [5] +4; Concentration [13] +15; Knowledge (Arcana) [5] +8; Profession (Sailor) [8] +7; Spellcraft [13] +18; Swim [2] +3; Tumble [11] +15
Spells: 3 2+1 (S) Arcane Sight, Dispel Magic, Dragon Skin, Fly, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Magic Circle Against Evil,
2 3+1 (S) Earthbind, Greater Slide, Knock, Luminous Armor, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility, Web
1 4+1 (S) Comprehend Languages, Grease, Protection from Evil, Endure Elements, Magic Missle, Shocking Grasp, Shield, Benign Transposition, Feather Fall
0 4 Predestatidigitation, Detect Magic, Light, …
Equipment: Wand of Magic Missile (5th), Wand of Invisibility, Quiver of Elhonna, Ring of Sustenance, Healing Belt, Headband of Intellect +4, Scroll Organizer, Masterwork Potion Belt, Spell Component Pouch, Belt Pouch, Backpack, Elven Tree Tent, Bedroll, 2 gp
Bolts: Bolts (46), Flame+1 (5), Alchemical Silver (10), Cold Iron (10)
Scrolls: Comprehend Languages (1), Tensur’s Floating Disk (2), Obscuring Mist (2), Disguise Self(2), Unseen Servant(1), Mage Armor(1)
Paradox, Parrot Familiar
Tiny Animal
Languages: Common
HP: 36 (HD same as master)
Speed: 10 ft., Fly 40 ft. (Average)
AC: 15 (+2 Size, +2 Dex, +1 Nat), Touch 14, Flat Footed 13
Base Attack: +7
Attack: Claws +9 melee (1d2-5)
Full Attack: Claws +9/4 melee (1d2-5)
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link
Saves: Fort 7; Reflex 4; Will 9
Abilities: Str 1; Dex 15; Con 10; Int 6; Wis 14; Cha 6
Skills: Listen +3; Spot +5 (others same as master)
Yvy Sparks – Lv.9 Summoner
Sorcerer 6, Malconvoker 3, Human, Chaotic Good, Medium, 21, Female, 5’3”, 128lbs, Orange Eyes (Glamered to appear brown), Chestnut hair
Exp: 36,000
HP: 40
Speed: 30ft
AC: 11 (+1 Dex) Touch: 11 Flat-Footed: 10
Initiative: 1
Total Base Ability Misc Special
STR 8 -1 FORT 4 1 3 - +1 vs fire/poison
DEX 12 +1 REF 4 1 3 - “
CON 14 +2 WILL 12 4 8 - Uses Cha modifier
INT 14 +2 Total Base STR Size Special
WIS 10 +0 Grapple 3 4 -1 - -
CHA 19 +4 Base Attack: +4
Weapons AtkBonus Damage Critical Range Type Price
Cold Iron Dagger +3 1d4-1 19-20/x2 - S/P 4gp
Magic Missile Wand (48) Auto 1d4+1 - 110ft F 750gp
Feats/Abilities
Infernal Sorcerer Heritage, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Force Of Personality, Augment Summoning, Metamagic specialist, Rapid Spell, Deceptive Summons, Unlimited Conjuration, Skill Focus: Bluff
Languages: Common, Infernal, Draconic, Celestial, Olmen
Skills (Max 12/6) Key Total Ability Ranks Misc Armor Synergy
Bluff Cha 18 3 12 3 -
Concentration Con 14 2 12 - -
Diplomacy Cha 6 3 1 - - +2 Bluff
Disguise Cha 7 3 2 - - +2 Bluff*
Gather Information Cha 5 3 2 - -
Knowledge, The Planes Int 9 2 5 - - +2 Book
Knowledge, Arcana Int 8 2 4 - - +2 Book
Spellcraft Int 14 2 12 - -
*while trying to act in character
Equipment Qty Wt. Cost Effect
Book Bag 1 2lb 2gp Stores books & notes
The Vital Pact 1 1lb n/a Mysterious book on Divine war
Angelic Tongues 1 2lb 50gp Common-to-Celestial dictionary
Kings Of The Nine* 1 2lb 50gp Very biased book on Devils
Codex Arcana* 1 2lb 50gp General book of magic
Notebook, Ink, Pen 1 2lb 25gp 100 fresh pages for writing
Component Pouch 1 2lb 5gp Contains spell components
Belt Pouches 4 2lb 4gp Room for scrolls & potions
Spectacles 1 - 10gp For reading small print
Ash-Mauve Dress 1 6lb 5gp Long-sleeve grey & purple outfit
Leggings of Modesty 1 - - +1 on Will saves vs embarrassment
Damaged Spellbook 1 2lb Swag 3 legible spells, rest is unreadable
Invisibility 2 2 150gp ®®
Levitate 1 2 150gp ®
Cure Light (1d8+1) 4 P 50gp ®®®®
Total Weight/Cost 21lb 251gp
*Books provide +2 circumstance bonus on appropriate knowledge checks
Sorcerer Spells
Level Known # Bonus Total Used Today
0 8 6 - 6 ®®®®®®
1 5 6 1 7 ®®®®®®®
2 3 6 1 7 ®®®®®®®
3 2 5 1 6 ®®®®®®
4 1 3 1 4 ®®®®
Metamagic School Focus ®®®
Lv0 – 8 Detect Magic v,s, Read Magic v,s,f, Mage Hand v,s, Message v,s,f, Light v,s,f, Arcane Mark v,s, Amanuensis v,s, Stick
Lv1 – 5 Magic Missile, Grease v,s,m, Disguise Self v,s, Enlarge Person, Ray of Enfeeblement
Lv2 – 3 Summon Monster II v,s,f, Glitterdust, Bull’s Strength
Lv3 – 2 Summon Monster III, Haste
Lv4 – 1 Summon Monster IV
Out of curiosity, which book is the Zombie Master from (darn, I'm going to bet its the Dragon Compendium, I just know it...)?
I really need to just break down and order a copy of that. My favorite hobby store nearby has been out of stock for essentially forever. I'll just have to shop around.
Thanks for the complements. I was torn between this decision myself. I liked Age of Worms, but Demogorgon is my favourite dnd villain, and I like that the time line wasn't quite so tight in Savage Tide. Age of Worms is a little too fast and furious in its pace for my liking. Savage Tide starts to get this way a bit as well towards the end, but I like that there are gaps of down time, where the PCs can take a couple of months to do their own thing without feeling horribly rushed to save the world.
That being said I'm not sure how I feel about Well's of Darkness or Into the Maw. For some reason I'm just not that excited about either of those adventures. I can't wait to run the next three adventures (especially Serpents of Scuttlecove) and I am itching to run Enemies of my Enemies and the grand finale. The furthest I've made it with a campaign is 16th level, so finishing Savage Tide will be a great achievement for me as a DM. I really hope to see this through to the end.
Simply great. I have to say, that while I am fully intending to run Age of Worms here soon, I must admit to having second thoughts. Simply due to all the wonderful stories I keep hearing (such as your P.H.) about Savage Tide.
AoW seems more of a standard adventuring campaign (which I do like)
ST seems quirky and irregular in its presentation and challenges (which I like too!) Damn, its so hard to decide.
I confess, that (as I've posted before) the big target for me personally in Age of Worms is Dragotha - I couldn't really care about Kyuss. However, getting to take down the Prince of Demons himself in the Tide - with all its wonderfully 'non-standard' fare prior to the big showdown - proved too much for my meager Will save bonus to resist.
Well....you ARE Mad Turin.
*Raises one eyebrow...*
Or is it that you've been....SAVAGE all ALONG!?
Well....you ARE Mad Turin.
*Raises one eyebrow...*Or is it that you've been....SAVAGE all ALONG!?
Sshhh I'm actually a carnivorous hobbit cultist of Tharizdun...
My apologies to PH Dungeon, not trying to threadjack your Campaign Journal...
Zombie Master is a home brew prestige class:
Zombie Master Prestige Class
Prerequisites:
Alignment: Any non good.
Special: Ability to rebuke undead. Ability to cast animate dead. Access to the death domain. The character must be human (Olman), and a member of one of the Olman tribes. To enter this prestige class the zombie master must apprentice with a zombie master in his village and become initiated into the Cult of the Walking Dead. After this initial training the zombie master must seek out the Lich Master, who is said to be the first zombie master. The lich master is an ancient being whose lair is near the volcanic peaks known as the Fangs of Zotzilla. Each zombie master spends 6 months training under the cruel tutelage of the lich master before becoming a full Zombie Master. Some candidates never return from this training.
BaB and Saves: Cleric
Hit Dice: d8
Spell Progression: None at first level and +1 per divine class level every level after that
1st: Rebuke undead, Ghoul touch 1 per day.
2nd: Darkvision
3rd: Animate Dead 1 per day
4th: Zone of desecration
5th: Ghoul Touch 2 per day
6th: Deathless Vigor
8th: Tough as bone
9th: Ghoul touch 3 per day
10th: Deathless Mastery
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Intimidation, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (Planes), Perform, Profession, Spellcraft.
Skill Points per level: 2+Int modifier.
Weapon and Armour proficiencies: Zombie masters are proficient with light armour, light shields, and heavy shields. They are proficient with simple weapons (except crossbows), and they are proficient with blowguns and Olman swords.
Special Abilities:
Rebuke Undead: The zombie master’s ability to rebuke undead continues to advance in the zombie master prestige class.
Ghoul Touch: At 1st level,1 per day a zombie master can cast ghoul touch as a spell-like ability. His caster level is equal to the total level of his spellcasting classes. The save DC for this spell is modified by the zombie masters wisdom bonus. At 5th level he can use this ability twice per day, and at 9th he can use it 3 times per day.
Darkvision: At 2nd level the zombie master’s connection with the undead grants him darkvision with a 60’ range.
Animate Dead: At 3rd level, 1 per day a zombie master can cast animate dead as a spell-like ability. He needs no material components for this spell and his caster level is equal to the total of all his spellcasting classes. At 6th level he can use this ability twice per day.
Zone of Desecration: At 4th level a zombie master begins to exert his control over the undead. He produces an aura that is identical to the effects of a desecrate spell, except that it affects only allied undead.
Deathless Vigor: At 6th level the zombie master becomes more akin to the undying flesh of the walking ancestors. The character gets a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves except on effects that also effect objects (like the disintegrate spell).
Tough as Bone: On reaching 8th level the zombie master takes on even more of the qualities of the undead. He becomes immune to disease, nonlethal damage, and stunning.
Deathless mastery: On reaching 10th level, a zombie master gains the virtues of his deathless arts. His body becomes partially mummified (though he is not truly undead), and he becomes immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, death effects, critical hits, ability drain, and energy drain, as well as damage to his physical ability scores. He still needs to breath and eat. He no longer needs to sleep, but must enter a meditative state each day/night the same way an elf does. He still ages normally.
Class Description: Zombie masters are the religious leaders of the Olman tribes, and advisors to the chiefs. They are responsible for maintaining the history and stories of their people through oral stories and song. They are members of a secretive cult called the Cult of the Walking dead, and they are respected, feared and shunned for their abilities to create and control undead, as well the undead characteristics they take on as they grow in power. In Olman society it has become socially acceptable to create mindless undead to help in the defence of Olman villages and to perform menial labour. They call these undead Walking Ancestors. Despite this the Olmans still have an aversion to these unnatural creations and tend to give them a wide berth. It is much less acceptable among the Olmans to create intelligent undead, as such beings inevitably prove evil and dangerous. Zombie Masters don’t consider creating mindless an evil act, but they do view creating evil and intelligent undead as an evil act (which it is). Thus, such practices are forbidden, even though Zombie Masters have the knowledge to do so. However, every now and then a rogue Zombie Master engages in such evil acts, and if they are ever caught they are punished with death or worse.
Role Playing Notes: Zombie masters tend towards neutral alignments, but it is not uncommon for a Zombie Master to become corrupt, malicious and cruel. Most Zombie Masters care about their people, but are also self serving. They demand respect, and often take a perverse pleasure in being feared and shunned. They tend to crave power, but more often divine power than political power. Zombie Masters usually adorn themselves in tribal jewelry, piercings and tattoos. They always carry a ceremonial MW obsidian dagger, as symbol of their station. Such daggers are often magical.
Out of curiosity, which book is the Zombie Master from (darn, I'm going to bet its the Dragon Compendium, I just know it...)?
I really need to just break down and order a copy of that. My favorite hobby store nearby has been out of stock for essentially forever. I'll just have to shop around.
PH Dungeon, that is a well-done Prestige Class sir, I tip my hat to you.
Yes very well done. I see you pulled out the Zombie Master idea from Torrents of Dread. I thought that might have been the case, but maybe that Paizo had done an official writeup.
A nice blend of Olman flavor and a condensed divine version of the Dread Necromancer. I like it.
Interlude (Between Tides of Dread and Lightless Depths): The weeks pass after the fall of Farshore to the savage tide. There are several orders of business to take place. Firstly, the party takes some more time to load all the valuables that were stored in the tunnels Breca forged in Farshore, and put them on the Brine Harlot to ship back to Rat’s End. During their visit to Farshore they continue to slay any mutants they happen to run across. Back in Rat’s End repairs are untaken to turn the hole into something livable, though Breca decides it will only be a temporay quarters until he can create something better.
Through the use of Breca’s newly acquired teleportation magic visits are made to the Olman villages and the phanaton village. The story of Far Shore’s is shared, and the few surviving phanaton and Olman warriors are returned home. Both the phanatons and the Olmans take the time to grieve the loss of their fallen kin. In addition, the magical weapons taken from the temple of the Jagaur are returned as promised to the Feathered Serpent.
Vel’drin and Jaheria return home as well. Vel’drin has cast gentle repose on Vanthus’s corpse and insists on taking it with him as a gift for Requota (the Zombie Mistress of Tanora). Lavinia makes a half-hearted protest, but is too horrified by her brother’s body and too terrified of Vel’drin to put up any real argument. She is obviously not herself, and it looks like it will take her some time to recover. She begs Breca to take her back to Sasserine, for she thinks the gods have forsaken the venture, and that she should go back to her life in the city. In Tanora a council is held for all the chiefs and Zombie Masters of the seven villages. At the council the events around Farshore are discussed along with the threat of the Shadow Pearls. It is decided that the foes the seven villages face possess magic that is too great a threat for the common Olman warrior, and it can best be dealt with by only the most powerful champions. Since Vel’drin and Jaheria are already involved and have proven themselves to be among the most capable beings the seven villages have to send forth, they are selected to try to work with the outlanders to fight the so called Lords of Dread, who seem to be responsible for creating the Shadow Pearls. It should also be noted that Requota animates Vanthus’ corpse and he becomes the vile hag’s new favourite zombie servant. Vanthus is prominently on display during the council meeting, as a reminder of the dangers the Olmans face.
Breca has gained access to the powerful Word of Recall spell. He spends about a week studying the cabin of the Blue Nixe so that he might be able to return to it later. He then begins making trips to Sasserine and the city of Gradsul. He grew up in Gradsul and has family there still, so knows it well enough to access with the spell. Likewise, the Azure cathedral in Sasserine is intimately familiar to him and a viable destination for the spell. With this ability the heroes have access to civilization and can start selling off the plunder they have accrued over the past months (most of this is Breca’s), and commissioning the manufacture of new equipment.
Breca takes a trip to Sasserine, where he returns Vessarin Catherly’s corpse to the church of Whirling Fury, so that it can be properly buried. He also gives Deek’s corpse to the church of Heironeouss so that it can be buried. Lavinia is also transported to Sasserine where she begins to rebuild her life in the city. Goods are sold and a few new items are commissioned. Breca spends most of his money on establishing a new colony on the Emerald Isle (near Rat’s End). He finds a solid shoreline of cliffs and begins using a combination of hired labour (magically transported to the island from Gradsul) and his own stone shaping magic to begin the construction of a subterranean complex with the cliff face. Similar to the cliff towns of his kin, but sized so that humans could live within. Over the course of a couple of months he brings many skilled laborers to the island. He names this fledgling colony Vessarin, after Farshore’s priest who had taken a liking to.
PCs
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 3
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Fighter 1/Swashbuckler 3/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 4
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 4.
Jaheira: Deathtouched, fighter 9/totemic demonslayer 1.
Game Session #18 part 1: It has been about three months since the battle of Farshore. The construction of the colony of Vessarin is underway, and the heroes are itching to take the fight to their enemies. However, there is one item of business that Breca still wants to take care of first. He casts a wind walk spell on himself, Jaheria, Vel’drin, and Argent. The spell causes them to assume a translucent gaseous form and they are able to take to the air and fly at great speed. The band sets out from the new colony of Vessarin, traveling across the straight to the mainland of the Isle of Dread. They fly over the Isle to its east coast. Here they find the wreck of the Bearded Maiden. The wreck is still wedged among a cluster of large rocks just off the coast of the Isle. Her masts have been shattered, and a large hole pierces the hull. They land on the deck and assume their physical forms.
Looking and listening for danger, Vel’drin spots a huge, dark form, with a long snake like neck swimming in the water near the ship. The party takes note, but it disappears beneath the Bearded Maiden. The band proceeds cautiously. Vel’drin stays on the deck to keep watch, and Breca, Jaheria and Argent descend the stairs to the lower deck. Here they find a large hole in the floor of the lower deck that opens into the hold. The hold is filled with water, and barrels, crates and supplies float below. Other than the hole in the floor, the lower deck is in descent condition. Several crates and barrels of supplies are found, but they have all been opened; it seems that something has been here. They finish their search, and Jaheria and Argent bravely climb down into the dark hold to do some further searching. The salty water is up to their waists. They haven’t gotten far in their search when suddenly there is a crashing sound from above. Breca hears it even more loudly and feels the ship tremble as a bolt of lightning strikes the deck and breaks a hole through it. Seconds later, Veld’rin stumbles down the stairs, his body smoking and scorched from having been struck by lightning.
He babbles something about a magical storm, while Argent and Jaheria emerge from the hold to see what is going on. It is decided that Jaheria will be readied for battle. Breca casts a spell on her that will help her resist any further lightning strikes, and Vel’drin enhances her with an air walk spell. She hurries up the stairs, but as she reaches the top another blast of lightning hurtles down from the sky, striking her. The spell works and she is unphased, but in that instant, her peripheral vision catches a flicker of movement from above. She looks up and sees the fanged mouth of a great serpent like head snapping down at her. It sinks its teeth into her shoulder, causing her to wince in pain. Getting a better look, she sees that the head is attached to a long snake like neck that rises up from the side of the ship. She deduces, that it must be the aquatic dinsaur that Vel’drin spotted when they arrived.
Argent hurries up onto the deck to help, also getting bitten at by the beast, but his powerful abjurations, fend off the attack. Vel’drin and Breca take the time to protect themselves from lightning with their magic, before they too hurry up onto the deck.
Battle begins. Jaheria does a charging airwalk up to the beast’s head and begins attacking it with her Shimo-Koa, sending teeth and blood spurting from it as her blows pelt its skull. Argent takes to the sky via a fly spell and begins looking around for the being responsible for hurling the lightning bolts down at the heroes, but he can see no sign of his foe. Breca, however does spot the enemy. The creature lurks down below, partially submerged in water and hiding among the rocks that the ship is wedged on. The creature is humanoid, but strange looking. It is somewhat larger than a man, but not as big as an ogre or a troll. Its skin is grayish green and has a wet fishy look to it. The thing’s head is more like a squid’s than a man’s, and its vaguely human like torso vanishes into the dark water making it impossible to tell what its lower body looks like.
As a lightning bolt strikes Breca from the dark sky above, he turns his attention on his new enemy. He calls upon Procan and hurls a pillar of scalding holy steam down from the sky, blasting the critter. It wails in pain, but then makes a couple of quick gestures with the tentacles of its maw. Suddenly, Jaheria, who was busy smashing the head of the dinosaur with her Shimo Koa, turns on her allies. She races through the air towards Vel’drin, who was healing himself (having been struck by lightning and having suffered a terrible bite from the dinosaur as he emerged from the lower deck) and smashes him with her weapon.
He is shocked to see such savage rage in his sister’s eyes, and he suspects foul magic to be at work. He tries to cast a protection from evil spell on her, hoping to stop the mental commands being forced upon her. Unfortunately, she is quick and ducks out of the way of his clumsy touch attack. The spell disappates harmlessly, leaving her free to continue smashing his head to a pulp with her weapon.
Meanwhile, Argent has cast a spell that causes two swords has purchased for use with this new spell to float at his side and aid him in battle. He flies at the dinosaur and cuts into it with these blades and thrusts his rapier into its neck. The rapier has a potent shocking grasp spell stored in it, which is triggered as his thrust penetrates the beast’s neck. The electrical energy, combined with his sword slashes is enough to bring the wounded beast down, and surge of pride shoots through Argent.
Breca, summons a celestial sea cat into the waters to attack the squid headed monster, and as it materializes he lauches bolts from his new bane crossbow, that prove very deadly against this strange creature.
Jaheria continues her wild assault on her brother. She smashes him with a couple of more deadly blows from her weapon. The blows shatter the zombie master’s shorn head, and his dead body collapses- blood and brains oozing out onto the slippery deck of the ship. She then looks towards Breca rage and anger still surging through her.
Argent sees it is too late to help Vel’drin, so he flies towards the squid headed creature, hoping to destroy it and free Jaheria from whatever foul spell it has put on her. He arrives in time to aid the summoned sea cat, and the pair force the thing to retreat into the water. Argent loses sight of his foe as it disappears beneath the waves, but the sea cat pursues it. Argent can clearly see the wake made by the large swimming sea cat, and he follows the wake out to sea, determined to finish off his opponent. As he closes in, he can just make out his foe gliding under the water, trying to loose the sea cat. Argent launches a magic missile spell, and the bolts of energy cut through the water and hammer into it. Yet, the thing is not destroyed and still has a couple of tricks left. It suddenly changes forms and becomes a large squid. It creates a cloud of ink and jets away at incredible speed, vanishing deep below the surface and well away from Argent’s sight and thus his spells, as well as the sea cat’s claws.
Breca, realizing that Jaheria plans to kill him next, launches a dispel magic spell and frees Jaheria of her domination. The warrior woman regains her senses and sees the body of her brother at her feet. She collapses onto the deck, sobbing with grief. Argent soon returns. The fight is over. Losses have been incurred. The saddened group uses Breca’s teleport spell to bring them back to the colony. They of course take Vel’drin’s corpse with them.
Father,
You know well the story of the loss of Farshore and the end to that colony, but as you have been on the run to Ulek, you'll not have had news regarding my own ambitions.
Once the Olmans and I had hunted down and destroyed the last foul creature in Farshore proper, and we had recovered the few surviving colonists and the phanatons, we left Farshore intent on camping at Rat's End till we were recovered, and then simply sailing north to civilized lands once again.
Most of the survivors were like Lavinia, broken by the loss of their home and families. It took me some time to come to terms with the loss of so many brave souls, and yet in the days that followed, where we returned the phanatons to their village, and took care of the survivors as best we could, another idea sparked in my head. Farshore was a good site for a colony, but too open and too poorly defended. It did not have the contect with civilized lands it needed to survive, and so two years of isolation took their toll.
While I was familiarizing myself with the cabin of the former Brine Harlot, now rechristened the Pelican, I sailed the length of the Emerald Isle, and noticed three likely spots to moor a ship in. To occupy time, I made crude charts and took the occasionaly sounding, finding two of the coves less than hospitable. The third, on the eastern shore of the isle, is as good natural harbour as one could hope for. I took some time to chart it, and compare it against other sites along the isle, but it remained in memory, and I have decided to make it the site of a new colony - but a colony with powerful protectors, not just wealthy ones.
The site itself takes some description, so bear with me. Fundamentally, it is an inlet protected from the southerly current with deep water rising to a rocky beach. Sailing in is tricky because of a long and narrow mouth between high cliffs, but beyond that lies an almost circular cove. The headlands on either side of the inlet are good solid granite, and have long resisted strong waves and wind. The headlands descend in gentle terraces once one is in the cove, but resemble the sides of a fjord along the inlet.
Although the terrain is quite hilly and not hospitable to easy farming, i think it could be made into good grazing ground and terraced to keep much of the runoff rain. The beach is less gentle than I would like, being rounded rocks and pools rather than sand, but it promises good fishing and easy gathering of shellfish. There are good stands of local timber nearby, and a small stream falls off the northern headland, providing fresh water as well as a pleasant waterfall.
I have surveyed this site several times now, and with the help of my friends, driven off several large predators who thought to make it their lair. The cliffs above the cove are as good a site as any for shelter, and with some magical effort and a long ramp, an easy way down to the beach is possible. The high valley floor between the hills seems full of game and yet is sufficiently difficult to reach from inland that only a few herds of dinosaurs make their home along it.
Thus, I have expended no small amount of money and magic importing engineers and labourers from Gradsul to the site, and with many castings of stone spells and other magics, have succeeded in creating a small hamlet at this location. I have named it Vessarin, after the brother cleric of Farshore, who fell defending Aldwattle and Weldan. Most of the survivors of Farshore have remained, and joined this new venture, adding considerable knowledge to aid the construction and identify potential income sources. We have built a single layer of rooms into the northern headland overlooking the cove. The far end exits near the valley floor, about three terraces up so that several stone ramps must be traversed before one can enter the subterranean complex. I have ordered wooden palisades to be constructed along each terrace for the moment, partly to protect the entrance to the complex, but also to encourage those uncomfortable with sleeping underground to build secure wooden shelters outdoors.
A single extended stone dock is now the only feature of the cove, and nearby three other ships than the pelican sit at anchor - the spoils of the Crimson Fleet. We have used the Pelican to trade with the Olman villages, and to strip Farshore bare of anything useful. If I can entice other settlers, adventurers, and colonists, the surplus of goods and materials will ease the creation of a new village considerably.
The complex is rudimentary at the moment, common rooms for most -akin to barracks-, and simple bedrooms for the few experts and tradespeople who require space. I have installed a smithy and a carpenter's shop to assist with construction, as well as created a small chapel to Procan as I swore I would. There are storerooms full of the goods from the Bearded Maiden, which alas was beyond salvage. My people sleep in comfort and are well-guarded. Their days are busy and full, and although we leave them from time to time, it seems to be a place of much promise. I am hopeful I can entice a few phanatons to start a colony here of their own, as their skills and knowledge are invaluable.
I have hired and transported some 32 new souls to the community, and with the sale of goods from Farshore, have paid most several months in advance. I will expand the underground complex as time and finance permits, and add further workshops as possible. I am hopeful that within the year, and using the detailed charts I provided, the consortium can sail a sloop south and start a regular trade route. I have detected significant deposits of ore in nearby hills, though much of the wealth will simply come from exotic lumber, hides, plants, and goods created using local materials.
Thus, I have left copies of the charts regarding the Isle of Dread, with as much detail as possible, including the best route to sail here by, with the family in Gradsul. For the moment, I believe we are the only traders outside of Sasserine with such charts, and thus there is opportunity. I will transport samples of goods and materials as I can, but only a ship can carry sufficient quantities of goods to repay much of the initial expensive. Perhaps even Lavinia can be coaxed to rejoin the effort and I would be happy to leave her in charge of Vessarin while we hunt down the source of the black pearls.
Peace of the depths be upon you,
Breca.
Yet another letter form Captain Breca...
Father,
Well, there was an interesting day. Having had some time to oversee the construction of Vessarin and ensure that work is proceeding smoothly, I left the colony in the capable hands of Jeffs, the gnome clerk from Gradsul, and set out with Vel'Drin, Jaheria, and Argent to travel to the wreck of the Bearded Maiden and see if she was salvageable, or at the very least, if the contents of her hold could be recovered.
I appealed to Procan for a faster means of travel than ship, and thus used a spell of wind walk to transport us from the Emerald Isle, across the Isle of Dread to the site of the Maiden's beaching. It was strange to see the beach where Kratos is buried again, and sad to see the Maiden in such poor shape - dismasted and holed. Up the beach lay the bleached skull of the Tyrannosaurus that killed him, as fitting a monument as he could have wished for.
We landed on the deck of the Maiden and after regaining physical forms, slowly explored the lower decks. Vel'Drin had spotted some kind of aquatic dinosaur, but as it fled from the ship, I thought it would trouble us no more. The contents of the ship had been tampered with, but not significantly. All the food supplies had been opened, but most of the crates containing colony supplies were intect, as were those containing trade goods. I was in the middle of pondering how best to return this to Vessarin when a loud crack shook us all. Vel'Drin appeared from above deck, smoking slightly from a lightning bolt. We shook ourselves out of our surprise and went above to fight whatever beasts had apparently made their home here.
The fight itself was only remarkable in that Jaheria, under some mind-controlling spell, attacked and killed Vel'Drin before I could counter-spell the effect. Otherwise some strange tentacled humanoid fled the scene shortly after I summoned a celestial seacat, and has thus left us alone since.
It took some time upon the return our party to Vessarin to raise Vel'Drin from the dead, and he seems a little more clumsy for the experience. Alas, his death also sent his animated zombie and skeleton into a frenzy, and I was forced to destroy both upon our swift return. Vel'Drin can now often be found talking to a small sealed gourd, the 'dust' of his skeletal mother, which I gave to him to console him on such an odd loss. I have not the heart to tell him it is merely ash from the smithy, nor that the colonists are somewhat happier not to have a rotting ape zombie assisting their labours. Jaheria seems quieter and more thoughtful since she was enchanted, but I suspect this too will pass.
We have sailed back since then to the Maiden and unloaded all that could be salvaged. She was a good ship, but I do not have the men nor skills to refit her where she lies, and so I like to think she keeps the spirit of Kratos company on that lonely beach.
Otherwise the complex is coming along nicely. The internal quarters are still quite rough but serviceable, and we have store rooms full of both supplies for the colony and valuables for trade. Shaping the smithy was a little tricky, as the airflow to the furnace requires a very precise passage, but I think we have succeeded at last. Argent has paid for the cost of a tavern off of the dining hall, next to the kitchen, which has raised morale here considerably, and makes the ending of each day more companionable. I ask that people tell stories of themselves and their travels, and there is a sense of community growing. I hold services in the Chapel twice a week now, and while not all are followers of Procan, I assist as Vessarin would have done in making them welcome.
I am also happy to have other dwarves about, particularly third cousins from the Foegrims, who are talented smiths, stonemasons and engineers. I will try to recruit more of our folk, for there is much room for expansion here, and with the bulk of the colony underground, it is much more secure than Farshore ever was. Some of the original colonists have constructed small cottages in the first palisade ring, and only come into the complex for the evening meal or to consult with Jeffs over materials.
As money permits, I have made plans with Njord Foegrim (our engineer) for a gatehouse and barbican at the main terrace entrance, building them partially into the rock and thus providing a good view over the cove and some of the valley. Another defensive consideration is the replacement of the first palisade wall with a proper stone wall, and extending it into the cliff face.
Aldwattle has politely asked for an alchemists lab, which is not unreasonable and I think I will install a library and some study space as well, to encourage the keeping of records. Currently the remaining records of Farshore are all packed in crates, and it would be good to be able to access their records so we do not make similar mistakes.
I have had no word from the phanatons on their establishment of a village here, though I will arrange for them to visit us within the month, and show them some of the forest up the valley. The more we have explored, the more I like this island. It is sheltered from the north by two rocky isles, and from the headland one can see the faint peaks of the Isle of Dread to the east. I will have to take the Pelican out and cautiously sound the waters to the south and east, to ensure that charts of passage to the Olman villages are correct.
Lastly, Father, I have a chart to a place called 'Scuttle Cove', which I presume is the Crimson Fleet sanctuary. I have made copies of the chart and will place them in the family vault on my next visit. If any information including rumour could be gathered about this place, I would find that most helpful.
Peace of the Depths upon you,
Breca.
Game Session 18 part 2. A trip to Gallivants Cove...
PCs
Breca: Sea Cliff Dwarf, male, Cleric 8/Demon wrecker 3
Argent: Air Gensai, male, Fighter 1/Swashbuckler 3/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 4
Vel’drin: Human, male, cleric 6/zombie master 4.
Jaheira: Deathtouched, fighter 9/totemic demonslayer 1.
With the construction of the new colony well underway, the time has come to set forth and seek out the Lords of Dread. Yvy has been busy with personal business and helping Lavinia in Sasserine, and is not available to make the intial foray, but Breca, Argent, Vel’drin and Jaheria set forth, using Breca’s wind walk spell to travel across the island with great speed.
A few hours later, they arrive in the vicinity of Gallivants cove, which is located along the northern coast of the Isle of Dread. They continue to fly in their gaseous forms and scout the coastline for signs of activity. Eventually, they find what they are looking for. A small sea cave opens into the cliff face and emerging out of it is a pier made of bone and rotting wood that seems to be held together by barnacles and urchins. Two lines of skulls stuck on the end of wooden pikes run the length of the berth; magical, noxious green flames waft out of the eye sockets of the skulls.
The adventurers drift in front of the cave mouth and look inside. They can see that the ground of the cavern floor sloops upward and leads to a rusty iron gate on the wall opposite the entrance. Beyond the gate seems to be another chamber, but it is too dark at that point to make out what might be in it. Of more immediate concern, is the large lizard lying on the ground in the cave ahead of them. The thing appears to be a dinosaur with a huge sail like fin that protrudes form its back and runs down the length of its spine. The beast is curled up on the ground asleep. It appears that the thing might be diseased for it has strange shingle like growths on its body and fin.
Breca motions the group forward, and they drift silently into the cave. In their gaseous forms they easily can pass through the bars of the gate and into the next chamber, all without alerting the reptilian guardian. In the next room they find a trio leperous looking trogs sleeping on mats of kelp and seaweed around the glowing embers of a campfire. The trogs also look diseased. They wear bandages smeared with an oily black poultice around their entire bodies. Elsewhere in the room are a few clay jars and jugs, piles of crabshells and fishbones, along with a wooden cart. In the cart are a dozen or so broken, black, geod like rocks. The rocks look as though they may have once housed spherical objects that would be about the size of a shadow pearl. Before they can look closer, the trogs suddenly rise to their feet. It seems that they were resting, not sleeping. Not feeling like a confrontation just yet, the heroes glide into a passage way at the back of this small cave. The walls of the passage are covered with crude murals, most of which are faded beyond recognition. Though they are moving quite quick they do catch a glimpse of some of the artwork thanks to their darkvision. One of the murals depicts spear bearing, reptilian humanoids trekking into the depths of the earth, another shows shows a large lizardlike creature amid columned ruins, holding a black circle above its head while smaller reptilians bow before it. The final scene they note shows a reptilian skull surrounded by a mass of spiraling tentacles that rain black spheres down on the landscape of a cracking, smoking island. With no time to consider what these dire images might portend the group descends deeper into the earth.
Soon the murals have been left behind and only winding tunnel way faces them. For about two miles they drift down the tunnel. Finally, it comes to an end at another iron gate, which they easily glide through. Beyond is a large cave that houses a small village of crude, crircular huts, crafted from stone, bone and clay. Each hut is a vague hemishphere. There are about a dozen of the structures and the only entrance into any of them seems to be a hole in the centre of the roof. The huts are clustered around a large charnel pit that dominates the centre of the cave. The charnel pit is filled with the corpses of dead trogs. In front of the pit are two sizable cages constructed of sturdy wood. In one is an unconscious, naked male Olman warrior. In the other are three seemingly dead trogs- also wrapped in bandages. Towards the back of the cave is a stone statue. The immense effigy depicts a rearing lizardlike beast. A secondary head- that of a crude fanged toad, emerges from the thing’s stomach, its maw partially open before a blood stained altar stone. Finally, near the altar, is a deep dark crevass in the floor of the cave, a well contructed lift is built over the pit, and appears to provide a means of lowering things down into the darkness. The cave is completely dark, and it is only by the grace of their darkvision that the characters can take in all these sights.
Breca decides that this cave is a good place to set down and explore. He lands on a small ledge well up the wall and begins assuming material form. Argent and Vel’drin take Breca’s lead and also take on material form. Jaheria stays in her gaseous form and starts peering into the holes in the top of the huts. Inside she sees more diseased trogs lying motionlessly on beds of filth. It is hard to tell if they are still alive.
Upon taking physical form Argent activates his luminous armour, which causes him to begin glowing with great radiance, providing much illumination to the cave. A few moments later one of the lepers climbs out from one of the huts. He looks like he is planning on attending to some business at the altar, but his attention is instantly drawn to the glowing beacon that is Argent. The trog screams out a warning and starts casting a spell. He attempts to put a spell on Vel’drin who is beside Argent, but it fails. The trog’s warning draws the attention of more lepers and suddenly some half dozen trogs are emerging from the huts.
A melee ensues. Argent charges into battle with his rapier and is soon engaged with four of the lepers. Breca helps him with support from his spells and enchanted crossbow, but Argent’s abjurations give him the protection he needs to hold his own despite the numbers. However, the trogs prove able to deal a nasty death touch, and a couple of them inflict harm on the abjurant champion.
Vel’drin has his own trog to deal with and tries both his slay living spell and his ghoul touch spell on the thing without managing to take it down. Jaheria finds one to slaughter with skull crushing blows, and then hurries over to aid her brother.
Moments later, the battle is won with relative ease, with only a few injuries inflicted on the party. After the fight Vel’drin and Jaheria free the captive Olman and apply healing. They disover his name is Jakara. He is from a tribe native to interior of the Isle of Dread near the infamous central plateau. His tribe was massacred in a Skin Walker raid. He survived and fled into the jungle, where he eked out a living for some time before running into an outlander missionary. The man was named Noltus Innersol, and he was a powerful cleric of Pelor, who had begun to gather a diverse following of worshippers to the sun god. His flock included humans, phanatons, and lizardfolk. Jakara joined the group. Jaraka eventually displayed his powerful fighting skills and talents at combating demons. Noltus convinced him to share his unique skill set with the people of the Seven Villages and Farshore. Thus, Jakara was sent south. On the way he was ambushed by the trogs and taken prisoner. That was the last he could remember until being rescued.
Another captive is also freed from the cages. This one is a trog, but a trog who was disguised as a leper, yet not infected. His kin had learned of his deception and placed him in a cage with dead, diseased, corpses hoping that exposure to disease would allow him to accept the “blessings” of their god. The trog explains to the adventurers that he believes something terrible has happened to his people. He thinks they have gone astray of the true path of their god and been led into darkness by the Lords of Dread. He thinks the disease that his kin think is a blessing is destroying them, and that they have been made blind to the corruption that has set in. He blames the Lords of Dread, and describes these beings as strange squid headed creatures with bodies combining the features of men and eels. The description matches that of the creature recently encountered at the wreck of the Bearded Maiden. Futhermore, the trog seems to know the route his people took to meet with the Lords of Dread to receive finished shadow pearls. He claims the meeting spot lies deep within the earth beneath the Isle of Dread, and he states that they will not find it without his aid. Breca and Jaheria have no interest in working with the foul creature, despite his claims. Jaheria brutally smashes his skull with her Shimo-Koa and puts him out of his misery. The party decides they will find their own way to the Lords of Dread.
Meanwhile, Argent has wandered off. Having grown cocky with the ease he took down the band of lepers he decides to wind walk back up towards the cove and take down the guards that were left behind…
DM Notes: This section proved fairly easy. Well Argent runs into some trouble, which will be detailed soon (that's what you get for getting cocky with your 36 AC- stupid Abjurant Champion Prestige Class). I'm looking forward to seeing how things will go given that they decided to kill off their guide. Next game session should prove interesting. I've expanded on the mod a little and have a few extra surprises, including an encounter with a band of trogs escorting a shipment of shadow pearls back from Golismorga.
They killed Igzrid? or whatever the trogs name is? Oh Ho! This should be very very interesting indeed.
For your consideration I have disallowed the Abjurant Champion in my campaigns barring a creative redesign by myself. The class, at the very least! needs some more prerequisites to qualify for it.
Well at least it is only a 5 level class. However he has just leveled up, and taken his 5th level of Abjurant Champion. He has added Greater Luminous armour to his spell book. His AC looks like this: 41 (+13 Greater Luminous Armor, +9 Shield, +4 Dex, +5 Natural Armor). The natural armour bonus comes from the Dragon Skin spell. In addition there is a -4 penalty to melee attacks against him due to the light shed by the lumious armour spell (book of exalted deeds spell). His effective AC in melee is 45 and he's a 11th level PC. The other PCs are all sitting with ACs around 22. So having a character with an AC 20 points higher than any other PC is a little awkward. That being said, he has gimped himself a little on damage output, though he has been finding someways to improve that of late. I still nearly killed him as you will soon see in my next journal post. It's a bit frustrating, but there are lots of ways to kill PCs at this level besides going through one's AC.
For instance, I have a trog cleric lined up for battle next game session with the Flesh Ripper spell from the book of vile darkness. He's a Favoured Soul, so can launch plenty of them. Flesh Ripper does level in d8 damge, ranged touch, no save. It is only a third level spell. I'm giving him the Silent spell feat, so I think I'll have him walk into battle protected by some arrow demon body guards (close combat shot), with silence on him and then start using his 4th level spell slots to launch silent Flesh Rippers at the bastard. Argent won't be able to cast his own spells and he still has a low touch AC, so I should be able to hit him with Flesh Rippers for 10d8 damage a pop, no save. That should put a little fear in him.
They killed Igzrid? or whatever the trogs name is? Oh Ho! This should be very very interesting indeed.
For your consideration I have disallowed the Abjurant Champion in my campaigns barring a creative redesign by myself. The class, at the very least! needs some more prerequisites to qualify for it.
As long as the touch AC is considerably lower than the regular AC, I wouldn't worry overmuch.
Although I about shot a player in the face when he wanted to play some super-AC twinky character ... something about a 100 AC vs movement-provoked AoO ... I mean really now...
P.H., you giving him Heightened Spell too ? So he can stuff that lovely spell into higher level spell slots ? (Granted, with no save, there's no need - one can always burn higher level spell slots on lower level spells ... but still ...)
Turin...always so fiendish...
Nice combo of Tactics. Flesh Ripper is a great spell. Here's the question though...what class is he taking next? He finished out AC <--- Abjurant Champion (I wonder if that was intended...?), so what is he going to try now. Unfortunately AC, as printed, only requires Combat Casting to enter, so he really didn't waste any feats getting into the class.
His touch AC is only 15 or so. I think I can manage that.
As long as the touch AC is considerably lower than the regular AC, I wouldn't worry overmuch.
Although I about shot a player in the face when he wanted to play some super-AC twinky character ... something about a 100 AC vs movement-provoked AoO ... I mean really now...
P.H., you giving him Heightened Spell too ? So he can stuff that lovely spell into higher level spell slots ? (Granted, with no save, there's no need - one can always burn higher level spell slots on lower level spells ... but still ...)
His touch AC is only 15 or so. I think I can manage that.
As long as the touch AC is considerably lower than the regular AC, I wouldn't worry overmuch.
Although I about shot a player in the face when he wanted to play some super-AC twinky character ... something about a 100 AC vs movement-provoked AoO ... I mean really now...
P.H., you giving him Heightened Spell too ? So he can stuff that lovely spell into higher level spell slots ? (Granted, with no save, there's no need - one can always burn higher level spell slots on lower level spells ... but still ...)
What about some of the lovely cleric spells that buff ranged attack rolls from the Spell Compendium ? Or other fun ones, such as faerie fire, glitterdust ... true strike ...
He's going Eldrich Knight here on out, which is a little more reasonable (but in a way the damage has already been done). No worries, he's going down. That 41 AC is just provoking me to go after him and put it to the test.
Turin...always so fiendish...
Nice combo of Tactics. Flesh Ripper is a great spell. Here's the question though...what class is he taking next? He finished out AC <--- Abjurant Champion (I wonder if that was intended...?), so what is he going to try now. Unfortunately AC, as printed, only requires Combat Casting to enter, so he really didn't waste any feats getting into the class.
Lovely lovely lovely....besides, if you have to....just have an appropriately leveled BBEG cast Anti-magic field on a melee oriented associate and send them into lovely melee with Mr. AC (still means Abjurant Champion...the other meaning too...), to take a cheap move out of Allen's AoW. But this time on the side of righteousness, that is, the DMing side.