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We started our all-goblin Rise of the Runelords game tonight. The PCs are all goblins from the Birdcruncher tribe, but they have some giant heritage that (aside from making them Medium-sized) gives them some intermittently-functional extra healing.
After character creation, they decided that they needed better equipment than was available from the pitiful selection offered by the Seven Tooth goblins. They made a journey into Sandpoint, entering by the South bridge and going immediately to visit Voon at the Feathered Serpent, where he sold them some trinkets, spell components, and promised to do some research on certain other requests. The warchanter wanted a trumpet that was made of animal horn, and Voon knew a guy and promised to get it in by that afternoon.
The cleric of Gorum wanted a greatsword, and that meant a visit to Savah. They walked up River Street with the intent to nip over on Festival Street to get to High Street, but stopped before they got there. Where River Street ended was a terrible sight: two large dogs lay out in front of a smithy, not restrained in any way. The heroes discussed charging them, but in the end they backtracked to Bishop Street and took Raven Street to get to Savah.
After a couple of weapon purchases they concluded that some ale was in order, so they started down Main Street to get to the Hagfish. The smells from Sandpoint Savories distracted them, and while they were eating pastries one of them gasped and pointed to the sign in front of the Curious Goblin. She was so upset that she started to cry. A few inquiries as to the nature of the shop in question soon had the entire party covering their ears and eager to destroy the evil place.
They discussed a few plans, and soon realized that some ale would help them come up with the details. They carefully inched past the Curious Goblin, staying as far away from it as possible, and went to the Hagfish. They laughed at people drinking Norah's water, yarned a bit, played some games, and eventually headed home (stopping at Voon's to pick up the warchanter's horn).
On their way they discussed their plans to burn down the Curious Goblin and possibly involve the big dogs (maybe even framing them for the crime), but they stopped when they saw Chief Sheknub (still weak from fighting that enormous spider last week) in confrontation with some visiting goblins. It turned out that the leader of the visitors was none other than Big Gugmut herself, one of the great heroes of the goblins of the Sandpoint Hinterlands.
Big Gugmut was challenging Chief Sheknub to single combat to determine whether the Birdcrunchers would be joining the other tribes under the leadership of Ripnugget for some upcoming projects. Chief Sheknub was refusing, and it looked like Big Gugmut was going to take him out once and for all. This would almost certainly have happened had not his apprentice/assistant, Smashoar, stepped in and challenged Big Gugmut to single combat.
Big Gugmut accepted, of course, and soon the two goblins were facing each other. Smashoar was slightly faster, and critically hit Big Gugmut with an ogre hook. Forty-seven points of damage later, Big Gugmut had her first action of the combat, which she spent shucking her shield and taking her hybrid wereboar form. Even her damage reduction wasn't enough to save her from the next hit, which (while nowhere near as brutal) sent her crashing to the ground.
Kimskik, a Licktoad who was one of Big Gugmut's companions, took command and offered to escoat Smashoar and one companion to Ripnugget. Since she defeated Big Gugmut, clearly Smashoar would be leading the Birdcruncher contingent on whatever mission Ripnugget had for them. Smashoar is considering the offer.
PCs:
Smashoar (fighter1)
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
Awesome!
Now the PCs are of an appropriate race to consider burning down random taverns and inns and actually receive RP experience awards for it ... instead of bringing the wrath of thier patron gawds on thier heads ...
Keep this journal going please, this should be quite interesting indeed.
I cannot agree more. This should be very, very cool. Im already eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Thanks for the encouragement! We're playing every other Saturday, so the next game's in a week. Ours may be the first game where the PCs visit Thistletop before the Swallowtail Festival. :)
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The morning after Smashoar defeated Big Gugmut saw some debate as to how the Birdcruncher heroes were going to proceed. After consulting with Chief Sheknub and getting some cool new swag from the quartermaster (including part of a boar skull, some rotting leather, and a stained longshank shirt missing its left sleeve) they decided to accompany the visiting goblins to see Ripnugget.
As they were preparing to get their guides and mount their goblin dogs, they heard singing from the stockade. "Oh, we're such bad guards. What terrible guards we are. Oh dear, what a bad way of guarding we have." Upon investigating, it turned out that the goblins from the arch-rival Licktoad tribe all succumbed to sleeping sickness during the night. Symptoms of sleeping sickness consist primarily of blood loss through skin wounds that look remarkably like dogslicer cuts.
Big Gugmut and her two Mosswood attendants led the Birdcruncher heroes toward the Nettlewood. Along the way, however, she dove for cover under a shrub while the goblin dogs panicked. In the sky was a terrible sight: a winged horse! Steeling themselves against their terror, three of the five Birdcrunchers moved to a better vantage point and watched while the beast their warchanter called "the Great Devil" engulfed twenty longshank warriors in fog, sent them screaming in all directions, and burned them up. Needless to say, the goblins were all quite shaken. This is not to say that they let meat go to waste.
Big Gugmut sent one of her attendants ahead to Thistletop to let Ripnugget know that they were coming, and the goblins settled down to the matter of looting the bodies. There was an impromptu puppet show, exploring possible reasons why longshanks seemed to hate goblins so much. The warchanter told the story of the creation of the goblins and of the world.
Eventually they went on their way and continued to the Nettlewood. Ripnugget and his entourage (including Brunkel, Gogmurt, and the Thistletop warchanter) were waiting. Ripnugget explained that he needed the Birdcruncher contingent to be part of the coordinated attack on Sandpoint in two days' time. The big temple was going to be open at last and the longshanks were having a party, which the goblins would attack. At first the Birdcrunchers were fine with this, so long as they got to be in the same group as the Licktoads and could meet an hour early. Then they started thinking about the Hagfish and the bakery and their friend Voon at the Feathery Snake.
Smashoar spoke up in her role as champion and declared that she might do this, or she might not, but she needed to talk to the other Birdcrunchers first. Ripnugget was happy to call a break, particularly in light of the gifts of food that the Birdcrunchers had brought with them. Ripnugget ate and drank while the heroes schemed. After a bit, they mentioned that Ripnugget's plan didn't seem like it was very good.
This did not go over well. Soon everyone was talking smack and it looked like things might come to blows. In the end though Ripnugget assured them that he had a much better plan than the Birdcrunchers did. To prove it, both sides would tell their plans and then the two warchanters would decide which was better.
Ripnugget explained that he knew about a trapped goblin god, and that he had convinced a longshank sorceress to free the god. To do this though she needed the bones of a nasty priest who died in Sandpoint a few years ago. Ripnugget's plan was to distract all the longshanks during their party while a sneaky group stole the bones of the evil priest.
The Birdcrunchers said that their plan was similar, but in order to rescue the trapped goblin god they were just going to sneak in and steal the bones while everyone was asleep. There was some dispute over whether or not the Birdcrunchers has stolen the idea of freeing a gobling god from Ripnugget, but eventually there was more to drink and it was left to the warchanters.
The warchanters conferred and decided that the Birdcrunchers should go ahead and try to get the bones, but that Ripnugget would continue to gather the tribes. If the Birdcrunchers succeeded then there wouldn't need to be an attack, but if they failed then the attack would be ready.
The Birdcrunchers returned home, then moved on to Sandpoint to see their friend Voon. He liked seeing them, but didn't seem like a reliable contact. They started down Market Street, but the sight of the Goblin Squash Stables stopped them cold. They backtracked and took a roundabout route, ending up at the temple. They asked to speak to the main priest, and while it took some convincing they eventually gained an audience. Everyone was rushing around doing last minute finishing touches on the temple.
Father Zantus was gracious but exceedingly busy. The Birdcrunchers said that they wanted to make a deal to protect the town, and Father Zantus said that they should go and see the mayor. When they weren't sure she would see them he started to write a note for them to give to her. They screamed and ran from the room.
At the Town Hall, they finally convinced a town guard that they knew about some important goblins who would be arriving in Sandpoint for the Swallowtail Festival and that the mayor would want to know about it. They were ushered in to see her, and the warchanter blurted out that goblins were going to attack the town. The other goblins stared at her in disbelief since this hadn't been the plan.
Rotfen, a cleric of Gorum, stepped forward and said that they'd give the mayor all of the information if they were allowed to burn down two buildings in Sandpoint (#22 and #38). The mayor realized that this was all just some ploy to be allowed to burn things, and turned them over to her assistant, Jorvak.
Jorvak listened as the goblins tried to make a deal, shook his head, and said he'd talk to some people. He's going to meet them in an hour at the Hagfish.
PCs:
Smashoar (fighter1)
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
Hahaha, this is so Awesome! Keep it up!
Great stuff, tbug! Very clever. I'm planning on playing a goblin myself soon.
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Some of my players are reading this thread, so please no spoilers in the comments. I'm happy to talk about my plans and what else is happening, but I don't want my players to see it. It might become apparent that things are diverging from the script as written, but I think that everything is a logical reaction to what has gone before.
The Birdcrunchers sauntered down Main Street to get to the Hagfish, passing Sandpoint Savories along the way and smelling cinnamon from inside. With this fresh in their minds, they wandered to the Hagfish and prepared to negotiate.
After an hour or so, Jorvak Deverin appeared as agreed. He introduced his three companions: Saldra Jarrep (a maid who used to work at the Scarnetti manor), Tsuto Kaijitsu, and Zegrem Valdemar. Together, they are the Company of the Old Light, an adventuring group formed to protect Sandpoint from danger. After some tricky negotiations (and lengthy planning sessions on the part of the Birdcrunchers, all taking place in Goblin) it was decided that the Birdcrunchers would tell the Company of the Old Light everything that they knew about the attack, and in exchange they would receive ten cinnamon buns, a wagon, five kegs of beer, and be permitted to burn down an abandoned shack outside of town.
The warchanter explained that about twenty-five goblins, led by Ripnugget, would be attacking Sandpoint during the festival. Goblins would be entering town via the north gate. The Birdcrunchers discussed in private (by speaking in Goblin) that they would have to get to the graveyard early and switch Father Ezakien's bones with some other longshank's to make sure that Ripnugget's group got the wrong set.
Tsuto left to make arrangements for the beer and cinnamon buns, and the Birdcrunchers and the other members of the Company of the Old Light chatted a bit. There was beer, wine, deep fried yams, and eventually cinnamon buns. Jorvak led them to the shack that they were allowed to burn down, and set to work clearing foliage away so that the flames wouldn't spread.
After a while, the Birdcrunchers went to Voon's shop to look for some stuff. They had him write out the words "Father Ezakian" in both Common and Varisian, and then they ended up inviting him to the shack burning (which was to occur shortly after dark). There was the consumption of more pastry, and Voon left to prepare for the party.
After a prolonged eating break, the Birdcrunchers snuck outside of town to the forest east of the cathedral. They had the parchment from Voon, and the sniper was preparing to sneak into the graveyard. (There had been a fight over who would have to look at the words and compare them to the tombstones.) As she peered over the wall, she saw a longshank digging a big hole down by the cathedral. She watched for a while, and the warchanter snuck into the graveyard to approach him.
Another longshank entered the graveyard and went up to the first one. The new arrival was masked (unlike the first), and was doing something to the ground around the freshly-dug hole. Suddenly he looked up and saw the approaching warchanter. He grabbed his bow, but she ran away. He pursued and got off a shot, but it went wild. She drew her dogslicer and ran at him, but was unable to hit him. He dropped his bow and slapped her twice, dropping her unconscious.
Meanwhile the other Birdcrunchers were trying to get over the wall to help. Some crossbow bolts made it clear that they were there and hostile, and the digger grabbed his bundle and ran off screaming that goblins were attacking. Lights rapidly approached the graveyard, and the masked figure (wounded by a crossbow bolt) ran into the cathedral.
The Birdcrunchers managed to escape, and they quickly made their way to the shack. The party was already in progress, as Voon and several of his friends were eating, drinking, smoking, and making music. The warchanter joined the band, and there was a big fire. Voon provided sausages for roasting.
The next morning the Birdcrunchers woke late and for some reason were by the river. The rest of their beer was supposed to be ready by mid-morning, so they went back into town to pick it up. It was there, as was a guard waiting to tell them that the sheriff wanted to talk to them.
The interview with the sheriff was short and unproductive. They came away from it however having been promised a dozen cinnamon buns each if they could return the bones stolen in the goblin attack the previous day. This bore some consideration.
Returning to the brewery, they once again encountered Zegrem Valdemar (a large but rather dim fellow). He agreed to give them each two dozen gold coins if they returned Father Ezakien's bones to him. This bore some consideration.
The Birdcrunchers returned to their homes in the cliffs of the Devil's Platter. The tribe's quartermaster (Sniper Skarbid, an exceedingly greedy individual) demanded to know where they had been and what they had brought her. They said that they'd have things for her soon, but that for now they needed to sacks of longshank bones. She grumbled and assembled them.
Returning to Sandpoint, the Birdcrunchers handed one set of bones over to Zegrem. He gave them 24 gold coins each, much to their delight. They then took the wagon Jorvak had provided along with their remaining beer and some fresh pastries back to their caves. Skarbid received some pastries and a new wagon, which pleased her.
The Birdcrunchers returned to the Nettlewood, where they once again met with Ripnugget and Brunkel. They brought the second sack of bones, but Ripnugget revealed that he already had Father Ezakien's bones. He nonetheless seemed happy and took the sack. He said that the attack on Sandpoint was happening even though he had the bones, and told the Birdcrunchers to be ready.
The plan at this point (as far as I can tell) seems to be that the Birdcrunchers are going to meet early, be near the Licktoads sent to join Ripnugget's forces (because of course all Birdcrunchers hate all Licktoads, just because), and then once the Longshanks can see them they'll just kill Licktoads. Meanwhile, they've advised their chief to take all the other Birdcruncher warriors and wipe out the Licktoads who stay home, possibly allying with Vorka to speed along the process. (I might have misunderstood their plan; they seem to go through quite a lot of them in quick succession.)
Again, my players might read this thread so if you want to have a spoilery discussion we should probably do it elsewhere.
PCs:
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
Awesome, what a fun read! I like both your ideas about the game and your player group, it is funny but not silly, I can quite see goblins acting that way.
Awesome, what a fun read! I like both your ideas about the game and your player group, it is funny but not silly, I can quite see goblins acting that way.
Thanks! I think that "funny but not silly" really sums up our play goals. We want to have the goblins act the way that they're described as acting in all the cultural stuff.
Of course, starting the players a little earlier in the story to allow them to witness the goblin recruitment and so forth has thrown a wrench or two into the plot, but I'm just trying to put myself into the minds of the villains and figure out how they'd logically react. I think I'm doing okay so far. :)
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The big day had finally arrived. Sandpoint was celebrating the Swallowtail festival!
The Birdcruncher heroes decided to take a trip into town mid-morning, hoping to get some cinnamon buns and some beer. When they arrived at their customary entrance to town (near Voon's) they were turned away by militia men with spears who had been warned about a goblin attack on festival day. The Birdcrunchers walked around to try the north gate, but received the same reception.
One of them asked a guard if he could fetch Zegrem Valdemar, since surely he would get the goblins admission into the town. Some coin changed hands, and soon Vegrem showed up. He was happy to see his friends, but couldn't override the sheriff's instructions to keep goblins out of the town for the duration of the festival. He did, however, send a minion back with some cinnamon buns and some beer.
The Birdcrunchers returned to their caves, where they saw that Chief Sheknub was preparing to lead a task force of twenty warriors down into the Brinestump Marsh to assault the hated Licktoads while ten of their warriors were away on the Swallowtail raid. It was discussed that the Licktoads are a larger tribe than the Birdcrunchers, and that Vorka the Licktoadivore was down there, as were goblin snakes, face melters, and the Swamp Witch. Chief Sheknub shrugged, mounted his goblin dog, and rode off. Twenty warriors followed him.
The Birdcruncher heroes killed a bit of time, then wandered off toward Sandpoint to participate in the Swallowtail raid. On their way there they were ambushed by about twenty Licktoads (including assistant chief Kemfeg) and Old Megus the swamp witch! The Birdcrunchers put up a valiant fight, even killing Kemfeg and one other Licktoad, but before long the Birdcrunchers were all down and the Licktoads had all their stuff.
Finally their troll heritage showed its power. Only a few minutes after the Licktoads had left, the Birdcrunchers were back on their feet. This time they rode their goblin dogs and quickly caught up with the Licktoads (though Old Megus wasn't with them). Though the goblins all fought as well as they could, it was the large goblin dogs who dominated the fight. Soon the Birdcrunchers had all their stuff back, but the sun had long set and they had missed the raid on Sandpoint.
Loading up their goblin dogs, the Birdcrunchers hauled everything (corpses and all) back to their caves. The quartermaster was delighted at all the new equipment. The heroes made a travois and hauled the severed Licktoad heads back to Sandpoint, where they demanded of some terrified militia men that they be permitted to speak to either the mayor or the sheriff.
The latter showed up, listened to their story, and allowed them to look at the bodies of the forty slain goblins who had attacked. He said that he planned to meet with the Company of the Old Light the following morning, and agreed to meet the Birdcrunchers at about noon.
PCs:
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
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I like the moral ambiguity of this game.
They meander about, decide to go ahead and take part in the raid, but get ambushed by some of the raiders....then attack the raiders, inadvertently saving the villagers from having another group of raider involved.
Then going to Sandpoint (which they WERE going to take part in the raid) with the Licktoad Goblin heads to say....
"Longshanks...look we be Birdcrunchers. We kill Licktoad, you give food!"
Very very entertaining.
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(Thanks to Sir_Wulf for the plot help.)
The Birdcrunchers met with Sheriff Hemlock at noon the day after the Swallowtail festival. Having heard about their tastes, he thanked them for their part in saving the town by giving them three dozen cinnamon buns and a keg of beer. Goblins are currently forbidden from freely wandering the streets of Sandpoint, but if the heroes are willing to take oaths to become vassals of the Company of the Old Light then they will be given special dispensations. A meeting between the Birdcrunchers and the Company of the Old Light was set for the evening of the next day.
Shakkk (the rogue) was still suffering Strength damage from her earlier encounter with Old Megus the swamp witch, so the heroes returned to the Birdcruncher caves. Marshal Tidwit (a cleric of Gorum) healed her up, and then the heroes went riding off toward the Brinestump Marsh in search of their chief and his expeditionary force.
Not long after entering the swamp, they encountered a single Licktoad scout. The latter was confused, because the Birdcrunchers weren't following either of the two most recent plans devised by Licktoad Chief Skilmut. The Licktoad protested, and the Birdcrunchers killed him.
Pressing on, they smelled smoke. Following the scent, they soon also heard singing. "Oh, we're going to get eaten by the Licktoads, if the thing in the water doesn't eat us first! Ho doh dee oh doh!" Sure enough, eight Birdcrunchers were on an island surrounded by mists. After a bit of persuasion, the heroes convinced their goblin dogs to swim them out to the island. There they learned that Chief Sheknub has indeed made contact with Vorka, and even bought her good favour with a fine purple Longshank hat, only slightly stained. The alliance cemented, they set off to kill Licktoads. This almost worked, until Vorka got hungry. After eating Chief Sheknub she started to turn on the other Birdcrunchers, who ran away.
The eight on the island had stolen a boat to get there. Things were going well, until they were attacked by a "swamp horse". Some of them got eaten, and they just had to burn the boat. The heroes patted them on the head, built up their morale for a while, then sent them swimming back to shore. One of them got eaten on the way.
The heroes in the meantime went another direction and also made it back to shore. Mist was everywhere, and Licktoads were shouting out to each other trying to keep Chief Skilmut's plans straight. At one point it seemed that they were to prepare for the Birdcrunchers to show up only to build an enormous oven, at which point they were to sabotage the fuel supply. Hearing this, the Birdcrunchers commenced building an oven.
A couple more Licktoads were slain, but soon their arrogance attracted the attention of Vorka herself, resplendent in a fine purple hat. She quickly downed one of the heroes with a single shot from her bow, but after they explained that all the yelling about being Licktoads was a ruse and that they were really Birdcrunchers she remembered that she was in an alliance with them, and they all stopped fighting. The heroes had been dragging an earlier-killed Licktoad along behind a goblin dog, and Vorka ate it immediately.
The new alliance patrolled a bit, and found a spot where two Licktoad squads were approaching each other. They prepared an ambush, which was overwhelmingly successful (in large part due to Vorka). At first the Birdcrunchers thought that this was great and that they should just wipe out the entire Licktoad band, but Vorka made it clear that they were her principle food source. Some uncharacteristically sober reflecting led the Birdcrunchers to realize that having the Licktoads as a steady food supply was the only thing preventing Vorka from feasting on Birdcrunchers as her regular diet, so they decided that enough was enough and went their separate ways.
The Birdcrunchers finished their oven and tried to lure in some Licktoads. They crafted a line of dead toads leading toward the oven (for licking), and the rogue hid behind it ready to light it up. They shouted and tried to draw someone toward them.
Sure enough, a female Licktoad was skipping around and came toward them. She saw the oven and admired it for a while. Then she saw the Birdcrunchers and put her hands to her cheeks in surprise. They told her she was supposed to be in the oven, so she skipped toward it. By this time Old Megus the swamp witch was close enough, so she dropped the illusion and attacked the Birdcruncher rogue, turning visible in the process.
The battle was hard fought, but the turning point was when the psion used his Control Object power to move a sack containing four flasks of alchemist's fire and ten flasks of oil over to Old Megus and attack her. Everything lit up, and while it didn't kill her instantly it lit her on fire, damaged her a lot, and proved enough of a distraction that everyone else who was still standing could rally and finish her off.
After a lot of toil, the heroes managed to locate the witch's home, which they looted. Things were trapped, and there was lots of ability damage all around.
On the way back to their caves they met up with the five surviving Birdcrunchers (two more having died during the trek through the swamp). In all it was considered a victory, although the loss of Chief Sheknub had hurt morale.
PCs:
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
They built an oven, made a line of toads (for licking...) and just told the Licktoad goblin that showed up...
"You go in." And....she does.
I know some people have brought up things like the 'Gremlins' theme song, and while I think that is somewhat appropriate...I also can't help but think of the goblins from 'Labyrinth' when I read this thread. Awesome work!
"You go in." And....she does.
To be completely fair, that was an illusion generated by Old Megus the swamp witch to distract the Birdcrunchers.
I'm glad you're enjoying hearing about the games. We're certainly enjoying playing them!
After the death of Chief Sheknub, the Birdcrunchers needed to have a new leader. The second-in-command was the quartermaster, Sniper Skarbid, but she didn't want to become leader since it meant giving up control of all of the Birdcrunchers' accumulated stuff. In the end, Shimfig the tattoo artist was made chief.
The PCs left home, most still weak from the fight with Old Megus, and went to their meeting with the Company of the Old Light. There were long discussions about food, and the possibility was raised of the PCs swearing fealty to the Company of the Old Light and becoming their servants. This didn't go over well, and in the end the Company took the PCs to the mayor and the sheriff and explained how helpful they had been. There were thanks given all around, and the mayor made another exception to the Sandpoint Goblin Ban (the first exception being that goblins from the Seven Tooth tribe are permitted in the city).
As part of the deal, the Company arranged for Sandpoint Savories to bake a hundred cinnamon buns, which the heroes took back for the celebration of the new Birdcruncher chief. Shakkk invited the mayor and the sheriff to attend, or to send a representative if they couldn't make it, and the mayor thanked them for the invitation.
Party preparations ensued. Cinnamon buns were collected. There was a large party, and while neither the mayor nor the sheriff attended in person they sent along two members of the Company of the Old Light (one of whom ended up with a new tattoo). The party was a great success.
The next day saw the heroes heading East to confront Ripnugget, but alert as they passed the Tickwood for possible food. (They had been alerted to the fact that a visiting noble, one Aldern Foxglove, was taking the Company of the Old Light boar hunting in thanks for their having saved him during the Swallowtail raid.) Sure enough, there were screams and panicked cries. Rushing in on their goblin dogs, they dispatched the three boars before anyone was killed. Lord Aldern was particularly impressed with the psion who could create fire at a distance, calling him Kezug the Great.
Much healing was required, and Aldern insisted that Kezug and his companions receive not only the meat of the boars but also those of the fallen horses (whose carcasses got hacked to bits by the Birdcrunchers). Afterward he treated them to dinner at the Rusty Dragon before returning home.
PCs:
Shakkk (rogue1)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard1)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Kezug (psion1)
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Warchanter Nifrat of the Seven Tooth goblins has been courting Warchanter Girzig of the Birdcrunchers (or so he believes). He had secured permission from his chief to exchange with Warchanter Lukiz (of the Birdcrunchers), since the latter was interested in a Seven Tooth. It was time to make his move, so Nifrat talked Girzig's cousin Shriggy (another Seven Tooth) into moving to the Birdcruncher lair with him. They made a trip to Sandpoint and bought six pies, of which two survived the trip to the Birdcrunchers and were given to Chief Shimfig.
Shriggy chatted with her cousins as Nifrat spent a very long time waggling his eyebrows at Girzig, since that's proven to be both an effective method of flirtation was well as an attractively subtle move. Girzig ignored him.
Heading into town, the Birdcrunchers (including Shriggy) went to the Sandpoint Town Hall, where they had a meeting with Jorvak Deverin. He confirmed that arrangements had been made for them to move into two rooms in Olmur Danvakus's basement, since the halfling was living in a house originally made for humans and thus had lots of extra space. The arrangement is that the goblinoids must be tidy and quiet, or face eviction. One of them immediately began plans to raise rabbits in one of the two rooms, though she had not yet apprised Olmur of this scheme.
Needing a broom (to prove that they were tidy people), they headed toward the general store. As they approached they heard shouting, and it seemed that Zegrem Valdemar had been in the basement with Shayliss Vinder, and Ven had found them. Zegrem had made it outside the store, where Ven was shouting at him. Saldra had heard this, and was now berating Ven. Some arrangement was made, Saldra smacked Zegram upside the back of his head, and then hauled him off to the Rusty Dragon to feed him. Thoughts of a broom abandoned, the goblins followed the promise of something to eat.
Saldra fed everyone, and asked if the goblinoids were going to be at the meeting with Sheriff Hemlock that afternoon. Lying extremely badly, they said that they'd of course known about the meeting all along and would definitely be there. After another head smack, Saldra made sure that they had the information straight, then folks went their various ways to shop and the like.
The meeting took place around the special big table set aside at the Rusty Dragon exclusively for the Company of the Old Light (including the auxiliary members, ie the PCs). Everyone was seated, and Sheriff Hemlock arrived escorting Shalelu the elf. The Birdcrunchers knew who she was, of course, since they'd heard stories about her for years. There were various comments exchanged, and soon Shakkk made a bet with Shalelu over which of them would be the one to kill Ripnugget. Once the meeting got back on track, Sheriff Hemlock explained that he was going to Magnimar for reinforcements and asked the Company of the Old Light to keep a visible presence around town and help keep law and order. Jorvak Deverin spoke for everyone and said that they would be honoured.
Soon afterward the Birdcrunchers lit the Goblin Squash stables on fire, but they managed to make it look like a lightning strike. A bucket brigade (and the heavy rain) soon put out the fire, but one wall now sported a gaping hole.
Intent to win her bet, Shakkk made a cunning plan to poison Ripnugget. Unfortunately, she had no poison. Her extensive knowledge of local contacts informed her that the Pillbug's Pantry sometimes had poison available, but only to those who could ask the right question. When she tried to get the question from her buddy Voon at the Feathered Serpent, he warned her not to get involved with the Sczarni. He said he'd take care of getting some poison for her, but he didn't look happy about it.
Remembering that they were responsible for law and order, the goblinoids did a patrol around town. Nothing burned down. They slept in Olmur's basement.
The next morning, Shakkk began implementing her other plan. Having decided that she wanted to be mayor, she'd learned that a) the old mayor needed to be dead, b) the people of Sandpoint would vote on who the new mayor would be, and c) so far the people had always chosen a Deverin as mayor. She didn't know yet how Mayor Kendra was going to die, but she knew that when it came time to vote that she'd give everone in town a cookie. As for being a Deverin, she set out to woo Jorvak. She knew an effective method of flirtation that was also an attractively subtle move, so she gave him a dozen butter tarts (eleven of which were consumed by her and her comrades) and waggled her eyebrows at him for an extended period of time.
She also gave him a crumpled piece of parchment that Bethana, the halfling who helps Ameiko run the Rusty Dragon, had given to them this morning. This was carried by the warchanter using mage hand, so that nobody had to actually touch the writing. Bethana was worried because Ameiko had gone missing, and the Birdcrunchers were concerned that this caused breakfast to be late. Jorvak couldn't read the parchment and set it aside, but promised to look into it. Shakkk said she'd take care of it if Jorvak would marry her, but he demurred and so she lost interest.
Voon had indeed secured some poison for Shakkk, which she bought from him. He looked haggard, and wasn't happy about the transaction. Shakkk was ready to go attack Ripnugget, but someone reminded her that they didn't know how to get through the woods and the thistle tunnels, so she gave up on that idea.
They went looking for some Licktoads to slay, got ambushed by some, managed to kill their ambushers, and dragged the carcasses (and their equipment) back to Skarbid, who eagerly added the equipment to her hoard.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion1)
Shakkk (rogue2)
Shriggy (fighter1)
The Birdcrunchers (including a cousin born a Seven Tooth) decided that they wanted to fight some people in a way that would help Sandpoint, so they went looking for their friend Zegrem Valdemar in case he'd know who needed beating up.
After a cold reception at Valdemar Manor, they decided that since it was almost mid-morning he must be in a pub. A decision to race back to town led Marshal Rotfen to take a "shortcut" through the grounds of Scarnetti Manor. A confrontation with the guards ensued, and one guard nearly died. Only the fame of the PCs let them escape without punishment, but it's clear now that the Scarnetti family doesn't look on them with favour.
Zegrem was having breakfast at the Rusty Dragon, but he had trouble figuring out who the PCs should be fighting. He went upstairs and got Shalelu, much to the chagrin of the Birdcrunchers. She reminded them that she had a bet with their absent cousin over who could kill Ripnugget first, and suggested that they help her out. She pointed out that there was a Seven Tooth among them, and that this tribe sends tribute to Thistletop and must therefore know its precise location.
There was a lot of talk, and it went on and on. Ultimately the Birdcrunchers and Shalelu ended up on a boat sailing for Thistletop. Marshal Rotfen knew their worship schedule, and said that right at sundown everyone would be at a religious service. They timed their arrival for that.
Their cover seemed blown when they were attacked by a bunyip, but for some reason the Thistletop goblins didn't interpret a roaring bunyip to automatically mean that intruders were present. It was a tough fight, and almost everyone ended up in the water at some point, but in the end the Birdcrunchers were triumphant and persevered.
As they approached the island, which sort of looked like the top half of a longshank head, they got in close (quite quietly) and looked around the island. It was low tide, and one of them spotted some odd flow somewhat out of sync with the ebb and flow of the sea. Further investigation revealed that there was some sort of underwater cave, and one goblin went scouting.
There was a vast room full of treasure! One thing there was even a humongous helmet the right size for a giant! Leaving that, she went to scoop up some sort of corroded object to take back to her companions when the giant hermit crab living in the helmet attacked.
[As an aside, the game came to a brief halt at this point while we sat around and admired this encounter. Kudos to James Jacobs!]
This turned into a tough fight, and before long all the goblins were involved. They ultimately prevailed, but it exhausted their resources. They could see a door leading out of the room, but decided to leave that for another visit. Marshal Rotfen knew that there'd be another worship service in two evenings' time, so they told that to Shalelu. She agreed that they'd return in two days to finish off Ripnugget. They neglected to mention the treasure to her, and so may be returning themselves before then to get some or all of it for themselves.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion1)
Rotfen (cleric1)
Shriggy (fighter1)
[We were short half our players over the holidays, but we played a session anyway. We brought in a couple of friends who were home for a week and they played some NPCs.]
Two mornings after Bethana had come to them about her boss being missing, the PCs decided to do something about it. They retrieved the crumpled parchment from Jorvak, who couldn't read it, and took it back to their warchanter--he had magic to protect his brain and soul when he read stuff. It turns out that it was a letter from Tsuto to his sister, asking her to meet him at the Glassworks.
Back the PCs went to Sandpoint, where Jorvak created a search warrant. Entering the Glassworks, they promptly split up.
There was much disturbance, and many things were discovered. In spite of Jorvak's best efforts, many things were broken.
Eventually Kezug discovered a secret tunnel that had been bricked up but was now open. He wandered down it and was nearly killed by a weird zombie-like thing with a cloven jaw. He went back and met the rest of the group.
Careful investigation led to an odd pool with cold lava-like stuff. There was a flying creature there that tried to drive them off, but they smacked it with an axe. She went and dripped blood in the cold lava, and another one of those zombie things emerged. The PCs ran away.
PCs:
Shakkk (rogue2)
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion2)
Guest NPCs:
Jorvak Deverin (aristocrat1/cleric1 of Abadar)
Saldra Jessop (commoner1/sorcerer1)
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The Birdcrunchers returned to their cave homes from Sandpoint, only to discover that Warchanter Nifrat had decided to move up his wedding day with Warchanter Girzig because after a day of waiting he got bored of it. She was taken aback, but her companions were all enthusiastic and started preparations.
Goblins don't have a lot of hard-and-fast rituals, tending more to imitate stuff they see other cultures doing that they think is neat, so Marshal Rotfen (a cleric of Gorum) made up a wedding ceremony. This involved alcohol and "blood soup" (made with beets because there wasn't time to go hunting). Soon Nifrat and Girzig were husband and wife, and most of the Birdcrunchers were drunk.
Eventually Marshal Rotfen (still sober) managed to get the blushing bride away from the alcohol and down to the boats. By the time the rowboats reached Thistletop (well after dark) she was somewhat more sober (and quite motion sick). She stayed behind while Rotfen and Shriggy dove down to retrieve the underwater treasure. It was cumbersome and time consuming, but eventually they managed to get everything out. They balanced the giant helmet precariously on the spare rowboat long enough to get it to a beach, and from there they took it via a circuitous route back to their buddy Voon in Sandpoint.
They slept in quite late the next day, did a bit of shopping, then met Shalelu in the afternoon in perparation for rowing to Thistletop. They had carefully kept from her that they had discovered treasure on their previous visit two evenings earlier, and managed not to let slip that they'd gone back and looted the place.
After rowing there they beached their boat and swam underwater into the cave, carefully timing things so that they arrived during a worship service. A quick look around led them to the back of a secret door. Shalelu opened it and stepped into a room with a mysterious statue and six sarcophagi. As she stood examining the statue she was ambushed by a shadow, who was quickly joined by two companions.
The fight was dire, but things looked like they might be swinging in the Birdcrunchers' direction. This changed dramatically when Shalelu fell. They knew that they didn't have long before she'd be back up as a goblin-hating undead, one who'd likely recruit all the inhabitants of Thistletop into an undead army and use them to wipe out all the goblins of the Hinterlands. The situation was desperate indeed.
Though a little confused, shadow-Shalelu moved to attack the Birdcrunchers. When it became clear that they could hurt her she attempted to move through the rock floor and escape, but the goblins used the opportunity to finish her off.
All of them were greatly weakened, and they limped home.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion2)
Rotfen (cleric1 of Gorum)
Shriggy (fighter1)
Having returned home after their ill-fated trip to Thistletop, the Birdcrunchers felt in need of some rejuvenating cinnamon buns. Thus fortified, they were able to make it to the Rusty Dragon for breakfast. An increasingly-overworked Bethana asked if there was news about her boss, but the goblins had none to offer. They considered trying to hire some help, but longshanks business practices proved too confusing.
They were still quite weak from their encounter with the shadows, so they returned to the Birdcruncher lair. They were able to catch the priestess of Gorum before she prayed at noon, and as a result she was able to help them a bit. The warchanter's new husband was also delighted to see them, and had a gift for his beloved--a feather token that could turn into a boat. He stuck with them as they returned to Sandpoint.
Jorvak Deverin revealed that their friend, Zegrem Valdemar, had been missing since the night before. A bit of detective work revealed that Tsuto had tricked him into going to Thistletop alone. Jorvak and Saldra joined the Birdrcrunchers in their magic boat and sailed out, scheduling things so that they're arrive after dark.
The night was cloudy and the rain was coming down quite hard by the time they reached the island. The warchanted downed a Bird Move grog obtained earlier from the quartermaster, and she took about a dozen prepared burlap sacks up into the air with her. Each sack contained a gallon of lamp oil and a flask of alchemist's fire.
She snuck up and over the western guard tower, where two Thistletop goblins were sleeping. She dropped a sack on them, and they woke up shouting something about pickles. This alerted the eatern guard tower, and they hastened to finish their card game and then grabbed their bows. There was shouting, and goblins started pouring into the courtyard. Several more sacks were dropped, and the Thistletop Fire Brigade was running about with bags of sand to pour on things. Having considerably more experience at putting out fires in their home than at repelling invaders, this started to work.
The warchanter had a few sacks left when a dark-skinned longshank emerged into the courtyard, looked at her, then went back inside. Drawing on all her skill, the warchanter tried to hurl a sack down into the compound and hit the longshank. She was rewarded with a scream! [This was the result of two consecutive natural twenties.]
Gulping her Can't-See-Me grog, she dove to cut the ropes holding up the bridge, then went into the ocean to join the rest of her group. They went through a few rooms, discovering a huge pile of enormous gold coins in the process, and pondered where to go next.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion2)
Rotfen (cleric2 of Gorum)
Shakkk (rogue2)
Jorvak Deverin threw open the door. There before him was Nualia, dead these last five years! He used to have such a crush on her.
Along with her big, flying dog-thing, she made short work of the heroes. Jorvak was all poised to make peace between the parties, right up until the dog barked and sent him panicking into the portcullis trap. There was a long fight, made more difficult when Ripnugget arrived, and at the end only Kezug and Nifrat escaped--everyone else was unconscious. Kezug and Nifrat each managed to get out of Thistletop, albeit via separate routes.
After a while the PCs woke up in prison. Thanks to their troll heritage they had managed to heal up in the hour since their capture, but their longshank companions were not so lucky. One of the Birdcrunchers managed to break out of prison and engaged Brunkel (the jailor) in combat. He contrived to defeat him and found the keys in Brunkel's room, along with a couple of potions (which helped revive some of their longshank companions). Soon everyone was out, though Ameiko (found in one of the cells) was still unconscious.
The heroes snuck improvised some clubs and then snuck out. They quickly found themselves fighting two yeth hounds. This was a tough battle, and Jorvak fell back unconscious. Ripnugget was approaching, and the conscious longshanks (Zegrem Valdemar and Saldra Jarrep) dragged their unconscious companions (Jorvak Deverin and Ameiko Kaijitsu) down a nearby corridor.
Ripnugget demanded to know what the Birdcrunchers were doing out of prison, and the PCs demanded to know why Ripnugget thought he was chief. There was blustering on both sides, which got sidetracked when one of the Birdcrunchers "let slip" that she had special food in her backpack that she wanted to eat. (This was actually poison that she had purchased, and her secret plan had been to break into Thistletop, bake the poison into a pie, and feed it to Ripnugget.) Ripnugget said that if anyone was going to be eating special food then it was going to be him, and the Birdcrunchers were going to have to watch without getting any for themselves!
Ripnugget escorted them up to his throne room and sent one of his lackeys to fetch the special food. Another minion set about making some stew. The lackey returned, walking a little unsteadily. Ripnugget added the food to the stew and devoured it. He felt weakened, and the Birdcrunchers attacked.
The fight was faster than it might have been, in part because the Thistletop warchanter began singing a song encouraging all goblins of the Hinterlands to be stronger than the longshanks. Ripnugget shouted at him and he changed his tune, but his original song's bonuses lasted half a minute yet (which was long enough to end the fight).
Ripnugget was the last to fall. The Birdcrunchers looked around, trying to decide what to do. The Thistletop reinforcements started to pour into the room.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion2)
Rotfen (cleric2 of Gorum)
Shakkk (rogue2)
[GM Note: I expected these PCs to get in over their heads occasionally in the course of the Adventure Path, so I provided a set of somewhat inept backup characters that would follow them around and that the players could take over as necessary to rescue their primary characters. As we entered this game session, all but one of the primary characters were being surrounded in Thistletop and all of the secondary characters were out of action. The remaining PC had gone back to Sandpoint in a side game between sessions to recruit a rescue party. The only other major thing of note from that game was that the tentamort was drawn away from Thistletop and killed.]
Ripnugget was dead, but reinforcements were beginning to arrive even as he fell. Soon the throne room saw the presence of about a dozen enemy goblins, Bruthazmus the bugbear, Nualia, Orik the mercenary, and Lyrie the wizard. The heroes were valiant, and went down swinging. Their unconscious forms were chained up and dragged down to the holding area near the shrine so that they could be sacrificed to Lamashtu.
Kezug alone remained free. He recruited several members of the Birdcruncher band (including his own grandmother), Sir Jasper, one of the Sandpoint watch, and three members of the Sandpoint militia.
[GM note: one of the Birdcrunchers was a recurring PC - Nifrat the husband of Girzig. He's a third-level bard. The other Birdcrunchers were three first-level warriors and an old first-level commoner. The watchman used the relevent statblock from The Skinsaw Murders, and the militia were all first-level warriors.]
Spicy Rose of the Sandpoint militia usually worked on a fishing boat, and backed by Sir Jasper she convinced her boss to lend her the vessel to get everyone to Thistletop. The trip was mostly uneventful until the boat was almost beneath the island, at which point the goblin guards started shooting flaming arrows at it. One of the Birdcruncher warriors (Uncle Kimgin) died in the attack, and the boat's sail caught fire. Everyone else made it into the cave on the Eastern side of the island (taking almost half a minute in the process due to failed climb checks) and Spicy Rose rowed quickly away and doused the flames.
Advancing quickly through the tunnels, Kezug led his group toward the room he knew to be the prison. Sir Jasper took the lead and flung open the door, at which point the Large yeth hound bayed. All of the goblins panicked, including those waiting in ambush in the chapel. Bruthazmus emerged from the chapel and stalked toward the invading heroes.
Closing the door, the heroes concentrated on the Thistletop goblin guards and Warchief Bruthazmus. Things didn't look too good for them until Hazgan Drelvar the watchman stepped up toe to toe with the bugbear and blocked his advancement toward the rest of the party. Though clearly outclassed, he held his ground and with an amazing critical hit actually managed to kill the bugbear.
By this time Nualia had arrived from upstairs, and was clearing out most of the rest of the party. Sir Jasper was down, Kezug was down, all the goblins were gone, and the only people remaining were a badly-injured Hazgan and Torga Bilfrin the middle-aged militiaman. Hazgan, being high on adrenalin, stepped up and engaged Nualia. Torga, meanwhile, secured a healing potion and force fed it to Sir Jasper.
Things were tense, and Nualia was clearly winning. Hazgan knew he only had a little time left and attacked for all he was worth. Another amazing critical hit ensued, and Nualia fell.
Though injured and low on supplies, the group healed up as much as they could and came up with a two-pronged tactic for taking out the Large yeth hound. The fight was long and three more members of the rescue team died, but in the end they were victorious. They rescued the unconscious prisoners, Spicy Rose braved the flaming arrows once more, and the survivors sailed back to Sandpoint leaving no one behind.
Sir Jasper wrote a glowing letter in praise of everyone, particularly singling out Hazgan, who may be in line for a promotion. Alternately, Hazgan is considering seeking out training as a hellknight.
Thanks, Kassil! We're certainly having a lot of fun. I'm a little surprised there aren't more people playing goblin PCs, given the great development they got by Paizo.
I have a copy of the letter that Sir Jasper wrote (which was submitted by the player who took over playing him for the rescue mission). Anyone want to see it?
It's kind of long, so I'll hide it under a spoiler tag.
By now you will have heard of return of the Company of the Old Light to the safety of the Sandpoint community. You will not have heard how near our precious community came to its end crushed in the clawed hand of anarchy. Many within our community will speak of the dangers from without, I can attest to the fact that our greatest danger came from within.
I was there years ago when our cherished Lady Nualia perished in the flames of the old church. I mourned along with our community when we lost a good soul and the protective blessing of our Lady of Light. It is only because I was there that I trust my own eyes to tell you that it was our beloved lady, wreathed in Lamashtu's corruption, that was leading the cloud of anarchy towards our precious Sandpoint.
I spent many years defending the virtue of our beloved Sandpoint, so it is with shame I acknowledge that it was not my formerly vigilant eye that detected the danger. The warning did not even come from within our own city. The first and strongest cries for the defense of Sandpoint came from the goblin tribe of the Birdcrunchers. It was the Birdcruncher Warrior-minstrel Nifrat that foresaw the danger through his mystic powers and pleaded with the residents of Sandpoint in the wee hours.
Though many dismissed the cries of one of the little folk, a select few, both human and goblin, were inspired by the Spirit of Sandpoint to see the truth in the Warrior-minstrel's words. These inspired took up arms to defend our precious Sandpoint against the destructive forces of anarchy.
Amongst our own Galbet Hren, Torga Bilfrin, Rose, and Hazgan Drelvar found the courage to rise above the actions expected of simple citizens.
Inspired by the Spirit of Sandpoint Spicy Rose, an affection by which she is known by locally, piloted our vessel of salvation with the expertise of naval admiral. She braved the flaming arrows of our enemies to safely deliver us a foothold in the enemy territory. Having gone above and beyond her duty she could have returned to the safety her home, but instead she remained to ensure none were left behind.
Galbet Hren was a simple militiaman tasked with defending our city, but only through the Spirit of Sandpoint could his bravery in the face of a monstrous beast be explained. Galbert fell defending the citizens of Sandpoint with more nobility than any knight or paladin I have witness. With prayer I will mark his passing each year that remains in my already long life.
I feel special affinity for Torga Bilfrin, because I know the joys of retirement. None would have thought any lesser of him for leaving this dangerous business to those of younger years, none except for Torga himself. With the fire of a lion half his age he fought and died for his city. As well I will mark with prayer his passing each year.
Many would say that Hazgan Drelvar's duty was to remain and defend the city and defer the heroic missions for the heroes. I cannot agree. Hazgan's love of his city was so great that he foresaw the need for a hero to save it. With no hero present he rose to the challenge girded by the strength of the Spirit of Sandpoint. With the outrage of the entire citizenry guiding his sword arm he struck mighty blows against monstrous humans and beasts alike. Blows against anarchy itself. I have gifted him with a token of my appreciation and implore you to do the same. Sandpoint needs heroes like him now and in the future.
As much as I want to bring your attention to the heroes of our city, I also want to champion those who otherwise may not gain the recognition they deserve. There are those in our community that would dismiss my words, I hope you are not one of them.
Grandma Lebret, like Torga, had lived a long and fruitful life. Grandmother to many she should have lived the remainder of her life in peace. Such was not enough for one of Grandma Lebret's bravery. She gave her life defending her tribe and our citizens against a monstrous beast that would have lay waste to many innocent folk had it escaped. She bravely stood her ground, knowing she was doomed, to slow the creature long enough for us to slay it. I know not what goblin traditions in in honoring their heroes, but I will follow my own on this matter and give kind words at her funeral.
Many question the bravery of goblin kind. Those doubters have not met a goblin like Kimgin. Despite the small stature of his kind he assaulted the island fortress of our enemies and fell to their flaming arrows while saving our vessel. As with Grandma Lebret if the goblins will have me I will attend his funeral.
Itgot and Nogzag are young goblins with much of their long life ahead of them. Despite this they undertook our dangerous mission without complaint and fought with every ounce of their abilities.
I save my final words of this already too long correspondence for the Warrior-minstrel Nifrat. A tiny man driven by the love of his wife, his tribe, and his community he is the one person responsible for our success. For the saving of our noble Heroes of the Light. For the freedom of our precious Sandpoint from the villainous grasp of anarchy. We of Sandpoint owe this noble person much. I plan on making my offering to Warrior-minstrel Nifrat and I implore you to do the same.
With deepest respect,
Sir Jasper Korvaski
Need any references explained?
The broles (a nickname for giantkin goblins) woke up in feather beds in a longshank home, looking at their cousin Kezug eating their share of the cinnamon buns. They ate the provided food, requested more, ate that, and then left. The staff of Deverin Manor were not sad to see them go.
Though they had accepted a dinner invitation at Scarnetti Manor that evening, they mounted their goblin dogs and returned to Thistletop. The entire island was eerily deserted. They found some of their stuff, claimed Thistletop as their own, then went back to town.
Kezug went to Quink and brought him up to date on what they'd seen, then escorted him back to Thistletop for a tour. Quink was quite excited, and suggested that the entire place might once have belonged to Kezug's namesake.
Girzig, Shakkk, and Shriggy went for dinner at Scarnetti Manor. Titus Scarnetti was charming, and gave them gifts and much alcohol.
The next morning, Kezug and a very hungover Girzig responded to a summons to see Sheriff Hemlock. It seemed that Banny Harker and Katrine Vinder had been murdered at the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, and a note addressed to one of them had been left at the scene. (Goblin culture is illiterate, and the names "Kezug" and "Girzig" are considered by some to be the same name.)
The Birdcrunchers investigated the murder scene, unsure of what to make of it all.
PCs:
Girzig the Warchanter (bard2)
Kezug (psion2)
Rotfen (cleric2 of Gorum)
Shakkk (rogue2)
Shriggy (fighter1)
This promises to get interesting... The loopy dread undead is obsessing over a goblin who can conjure flame with his mind, I take it?
Kezug is indeed the name of the flame-conjuring PC. Girzig is the newlywed warchanter. The original owner of Thistletop was apparently some variant on these names.
I do wonder how amusingly warped-from-default the Skinsaw Murders are gonna get.
I can't wait to find out! :D
Thanks, oh wandering one! I'm very pleased with my players and the campaign. I'm glad it's entertaining to the rest of you, too!
The Birdcrunchers were convening in their rooms in Olvur's basement when there came a knock on the door. Their cousin Dox from the Moldsniff goblins in the Fogscar Mountains was there, sent on a mission by his chief. Suspicion was roused, but family feeling won out.
Checking in with the sheriff, the PCs headed out to Habe's Sanatorium to investigate the survivor of the first murder. On the way there they checked the abandoned Bradley farm, but didn't find much of interest.
Once at the sanatorium they were met with hesitation, but the bulled their way in, raided the kitchen, and forced their way around. Habe gave in and showed them to Grayst's cell. Things were tense, particularly after Grayst identified one of the goblins as the one who should go to the Misgivings to meet the Pack.
Ready to call it a day, the party returned to Kezug's rented root cellar on a nearby farm, where they stayed the night while causing only minor disturbances to the resident farmers.
The next morning they thought about going directly to the Misgivings, but hunger won out and they returned to the Rusty Dragon for breakfast first. While there they were found by Sheriff Hemlock, who told them about some problems with walking scarecrows on the Hambley farm. This sounded scary, and they decided to poke their heads into the Misgivings before looking at the farm. They began down the road to Foxglove Manor.
Arriving at Foxglove Manor, the Birdcrunchers (plus one Moldsniff) found it very difficult to convince their goblin dog mounts to travel all the way to the house. Leaving them behind, they went the rest of the way on foot.
Once at the grounds they looked down the well, poked at the ashes, peered in through grimy windows, rattled the locked doors, pulled down dead trees, and generally made a mess. An increasing number of ravens were showing up during this time, and the goblins started to get scared. This became worse when some spellcasting revealed that these were actually undead ravens. Once it became clear that thousands of them were converging nearby the goblins were desperate to get indoors.
They of course all did different things to get inside. One took a previously uprooted tree and leaned it against the wall over the piano room, climbed up, broke a window, and went into the scary room with lots of books in need of a good burning. One used a wand of rope trick to allow for a vertical ascent to the narrow roof over the scorpion-cat room and broke the window into the stairwell. One commanded undead and obtained eight skeletal raven assistants, then clawed his way up the wall only to nearly bring it down with his weight. One tried to climb the dead tree, fell off, tried again, fell off, tried again, got grabbed by his cousin when he fell off, got dropped, got attacked by undead ravens, and crashed through a glass window.
Once they were all safely inside but scattered over three floors, they decided to have a race to see who could open the most doors and peek inside. Running through the house, they threw open doors without entering any rooms. Things went smoothly until Dox saw an old spyglass that intrigued him. He entered the room, picked it up, dropped it, and hurled himself through a stained glass window. Fortunately he impaled himself on a weather vane, and there was enough noise that his cousin in the room below figured out that something was amiss and was able to rescue him.
There was a scare when they opened a locked room and saw a longshank staring at a mirror. Fortunately goblins know what to do about that, but after they broke the mirror she started screaming. This was scary enough that most of them cowered in corners, but one of them started to attack her. It quickly became clear that he was outclassed, so he ran away into a nearby room and closed the door behind him. The longshank yelled something and ran downstairs.
They looked around for a while longer, stole some stuff from a storage room, cowered some more in case the longshank came back, and eventually searched downstairs. After some more adventures in throwing open doors (and experiments involving rat swarms and the grease spell) they found the spiral staircase and went down.
Things started getting a bit hairy. There was great delight at the prospect of killing undead Licktoads, but by the time that fight was over two of the Birdcrunchers were unconscious. Nonetheless, there was a single stone door unopened.
What followed was a long, difficult fight. In the end, a ball of fire killed both Aldern and a paralyzed Birdcruncher standing next to him. There was joy that he villain was dead, but there was sorrow that a much-loved kinsman had gone ahead to heaven without them.
Thanks Moonbeam!
After a large breakfast in the Rusty Dragon, during which the Birdcrunchers were joined by Flunk (a druidic apprentice from Thistletop who was a pureblood goblin rather than a trollkin), they decided that they needed to go to Magnimar. That was the closest source for a scroll of Raise Dead to use on their cousin Rotfen, and, while they had almost no money and clearly knew nothing about getting such a scroll, how hard could it really be? As they sat there talking about it, Ameiko overheard and mentioned that after rescuing her Tsuto had gone back to his townhouse in Magnimar. She gave them his address in Lowcleft. They left Rotfen in the care of Father Zantus, along with strict instructions that the "holy symbol" with the seven-pointed star was not to be removed from his body.
They set out that same afternoon, after a bit of a disturbance at learning that their extremely greedy quartermaster had been killed and a seven-pointed star carved into her chest. Since this had happened before they went to the Misgivings and dealt with the dread ghast they assumed that nobody else was in any danger. They mounted their goblin dogs and headed toward the big city.
Arriving soon after midnight, they found that the guard at the gate wouldn't let their goblin dogs into city limits. They tethered the animals in some nearby woods and went in on foot. Upon finding Tsuto's place (after gawking at some theatres and obligatory accompanying pubs in Lowcleft), they picked the lock, ransacked the place, ate his food, and more or less made themselves at home.
The next morning, Tsuto showed up. He was somewhat horrified by what he found, but didn't react as violently as he might have. He expressed some gratitude that some of his fellow heroes of Sandpoint were around, since he needed some help. Primarily, he needed a fellow named Zhivko 'No-Nose' found. They'd met a couple of months previously, and Tsuto wanted to talk to him again. Then Tsuto went out and bought some breakfast for the Birdcrunchers, after which he went on his way.
The Birdcrunchers ate breakfast, fought each other a little, made a bigger mess, and finally went out on the town. After a prolonged stay in the Market of Sails (where they found a stall that sold caramel-roasted bananas) they eventually heard about a guy called "Stinky" who lived in the Shadow who apparently knew how to contact No-Nose. This turned out to be true, though all they really got was a blind drop.
The day well spent, they conferred with Tsuto (who showed up again after sundown with more food). They told him about their contact, and he was delighted. He asked them to set up a meeting for the next evening, and said that he needed some guards for a transaction the next day. They agreed to help him, and so the next morning he came back and led them to a different townhouse. They hid in various places, as only goblins can do, and waited. Tsuto made it clear that none of them were to watch the transaction but just listen for his shouts of alarm, and while they all agreed to this the psion still sent in his psicrystal to spy.
A longshank in a long black cloak soon arrived, accompanied by two longshanks in breastplates. The cloaked man showed Tsuto a scroll and asked to see the trade goods. Tsuto opened up a chest that contained all of the weapons and magic items that the PCs had lost when they were captured on Thistletop. The cloaked man examined them and said that they'd be enough only if Tsuto threw in the ring that he was wearing.
This was enough for the PCs, and they charged in. It was a tough fight, but in the end all four non-goblinoids were unconscious or dead. Tsuto had been taken out in an area affect psionic attack, but he was healed up enough to be stable. People took back their magic weapons and generally were confused about what was happening. The scroll, serendipitously enough, was a scroll of Raise Dead. Then they decided to split up. A couple of them stayed behind and searched the other townhouse, a couple went back to Tsuto's townhouse, and one took some loot and went shopping.
The big revelation was that the townhouse had belonged to Nualia. The even bigger revelation was that there was a secret door, and her dead body was stashed behind it.
PCs:
Flunk (druid 1)
Girzig (bard 3)
Kezug (psion 3)
Shakkk (rogue 3)
Shriggy (fighter 2)
Kezug decided to go shopping on his own. The other PCs don't know what happened to him while we was out.
Kezug unlocked the front door, entered closed the door behind him, and removed his boots. A flight of stairs led up and another door led elsewhere on the ground floor. He opened the door and looked around some sort of sitting room with animal head trophies that had been ripped off the walls.
A longshank woman's voice called out that she'd be right with him, and he shouted his thanks and went back into the entry area to wait. She showed up through the door he'd just closed, and apologized for the mess. He accepted her invitation to tea and followed her back through that room and into a kitchen. He noticed that she looked just like the undead women from the top floor of the Misgivings, but decided not to comment on the fact.
He seated himself and waited while the lady prepared tea, and they chatted. After a bit he mentioned that Lord Aldern had invited him, and the lady said that perhaps he'd like to speak to Lord Aldern in person. A cupboard door opened, and Lord Aldern stepped out.
Things got a little tense, and both of the longshanks ended up punching Kezug in the face from ten feet away (however that worked). He blacked out.
Meeting back at Nualia's townhouse (where the Birdcrunchers had found her body), Girzig, Shakkk, and Shriggy were met by Jorvak Deverin, who was visiting Magnimar from Sandpoint. After a bit of distraction, he was outside working the bucket chain to extinguish the fire that somehow was suddenly engulfing Nualia's townhouse (with her now-oil-soaked body still inside).
After the fire was out, Jorvak noticed that the Birdcrunchers had his friend Tsuto Kaijitsu unconscious and tied up in a back alley. Rushing over, he cast Abadar's Truthtelling on Tsuto, who then insisted on a short journey out of earshot of the Birdcrunchers. There was still time for Jorvak to ask a few questions, several of which Tsuto even answered before the spell expired.
Convinced of his friend's innocence but aware that the law must be respected, Jorvak handed Tsuto over to a Magnimar Deverin relative. Arrangements are under way for Tsuto to be tried by one of the city's Justices.
That out of the way, the group attempted to find their missing cousin, Kezug. After a few bribes and judicious questioning, they found out that he had visited Aldern Foxglove's townhouse. Some guards in the area didn't like the look of the Birdcrunchers, and soon the group was on their way elsewhere. With a bit of urban tracking, they determined that two guards had taken an unconscious goblinoid down into the Shadow earlier. With a bit of luck they traced the route all the way to a rickety old tower.
Knocking on the door, they had a brief conversation with a large scarecrow. Calling him Mumble Mumble, they hoped for some entertainment but were disappointed. They called it a night and resolved to return the next day.
Jorvak kept the city guards appraised of all his activities, but they made it plain that the Lord Mayor had cut funding so much that there was just nothing that they could do. After a bit of research Jorvak decided that it wasn't illegal for him to accost the squatters in the tower, so he took the Birdcrunchers and off they went.
The tower door was answered by a very elderly man, stooped and feeble. Behind him were Aldern and Iesha Foxglove, as well as the scarecrow. A battle ensued, and one of the goblinoids fell. As the others started to run away, a half-snake half-woman creature flew down at them from the top of the tower.
PCs:
Girzig (bard 4)
Shakkk (rogue 3)
Shriggy (fighter 2)
with:
Father Jorvak Deverin (aristocrat 1, cleric 2) [played by Kezug's player]
Meanwhile, back in Sandpoint, Jubal Nakrimor had resigned from the active duty list of the guards. He was sick of living in Hazgan's shadow, and was determined to make something of himself. Accompanying him on his journey to Magnimar to join the Order of the Nail was Dox, a giantkin goblin from the Moldsniff band. As they approached Magnimar they encountered Flunk of the Thistletop goblins, and Jubal escorted them both into town. Once they discovered where Jorvak Deverin had taken the other goblinoids, Jubal gave them directions and went on his way.
As Dox and Flunk approached, the goblinoids were in disarray. Shakkk went tearing past them in the other direction, Warchanter Girzig was trying to throw rocks at things, and Shriggy was nowhere to be seen. Jorvak had ordered his two surviving guards (one Deverin house guard and one hired mercenary) to retreat, but they had scattered in three different directions and nobody was sure where anybody else actually was.
The flying snake womancame sweeping down and nearly turned the mercenary to stone, but he shook it off. There were panicked attempts at counter-attacks, and suddenly Jorvak Deverin lay dead on the street. The old man who acted as a caretaker for the tower (though the city records showed no indication that there was any such person) came out and started scolding the attackers. Aldern and Iesha Foxglove also made their way out of the tower (after some delay and the clinking of various bits of glassware).
Dox got involved in the fight, but soon blacked out. Meanwhile, Flunk snuck into the tower and barred the doors to the outside. He summoned some assistance, found the two unconscious broles, and started squeezing them through some cracks in the wall that his help was busy widening. There was a lot of skin scraped off, but they made it out just as Mumble Mumble (the scarecrow) succeeded in smashing open the doors (shaking the tower quite a lot in the process).
Outside, things had fallen to pieces. The Deverin House guard had succeeded in the retreat she had been ordered to make. The mercenary had seen his employed fall, and was determined to take his body back to the family (in hopes of a bonus). The warchanter had quickly followed Shakkk away from the fight. With no active combatants participating any longer in the encounter, the snake woman flew back up to the top of the tower.
Shakkk, however, had not been idle. She found a crowd of longshanks and (soon assisted by the warchanter) convinced a fair number of them that some crazy noble was giving away beer near the belltower. The crowd followed. When they saw Aldern Foxglove at the tower they knew it had to be him, and a nice little mob scene starting to grow. Things came to a screaming halt (and retreat) however when Aldern's face melted away and he started slamming longshanks up to ten feet away from him with his freakishly long arms.
The timing was good though, and the goblinoids took their fallen comrades and ran away with the rest of the crowd. By this time the mercenary had already secured Jorvak's body and fled.
There was a need for comfort, so another trip to the Bazarre of Sails was made, with many caramel bananas purchased and consumed. A rival to the banana vendor had seen the amount of gold being spent by the goblinoids, and had prepared some free samples of candied pear slices for them. They were impressed, and might purchase more of those in the future.
While in the market there were some purchases made. Flunk acquired a scimitar from a gnome who had managed to tint the metal fuchsia. Additionally, the little druid found someone who could make a breastplate out of a still-living bug, which was about the coolest thing he'd ever seen. He purchased it and named it "stinky".
After that they were off to Aldern's townhouse to see what was left there. They encountered a city guard inside, who turned out to be another facemelt. They dispatched him and searched the place, finding all sorts of wonderful treasure in spite of the fact that the entire residence had been ransacked. Clearly whoever was searching didn't have a goblin's eye for treasure.
The best discovery was a sack of platninum coins. There was also some writing, but since only certain people can read without imperilling their souls that was mostly ignored.
The next day a freshly-raised Jorvak accompanied the goblinoids back to Sandpoint. He was very quiet, and couldn't quite remember everything that had happened to him. He went home, and the Birdcrunchers returned to their caves. Their band was overjoyed to see them return, particularly Shakkk (who had taken over as quartermaster after the murder of the previous one). It seemed that while the PCs were away the Birdcruncher trader had managed to swap all of the suits of armour belonging to the Birdcruncher warriors to the Seven Tooth goblins, in exchange for a mountain of food, including actual potatoes. The food was all gone now, of course. As quartermaster it was Shakkk's responsibility to provide new armour for all twenty-one warriors now without. She shouted at people.
The next day (after breakfast) they had Rotfen brought back from the dead. He had seen their grandfather in heaven, and had news! It seemed that Rotfen's (and Kezug's) mother (another giantkin goblin) and father (a goblin) had been captured by some stone giant. Rotfen had seen his father's soul in Heaven, and it had a big seven-pointed-star-shaped hole in its torso, and even in Heaven his dad couldn't regain consciousness. His mother apparently was still alive, but covered in runes and unable to move. Her dad told Rotfen that he needed to bring her still-living body to Heaven in order to get her fixed.
Too funny. I am somewhat familiar with these players and having a fun time trying to guess who is playing which character. As always you folks are entertaining.
Keep it up.
CJ
This is wonderful. You are doing an amazing job, tbug, crafting the story to fit your PCs.
Thank-you for all the kind words, everyone! It's very encouraging to get the positive feedback.
As for changing the path, I'm honestly trying to be as true to it as I can possibly be, given how much the players change things just by being who they are and by neglecting to actually follow much plot.
Good times! :D
tbug: looking down the line, are we going to see 'recruiters' turning up to try to force the goblins to attack Sandpoint alongside them?
That's what Big Gugmut was doing way back in the very first session. I see no point to stop now! :D
They might be different recruiters at some point, of course...
Great work so far; I love the way the goblins keep wandering off for snacks....
For a while we actually had to have real cinnamon buns because all the talk of them made us crave them. There's been mention that someone has been looking up recipes for caramel bananas, and we might be seeing some of those at some point too.
Thanks for the kind words!
Too funny. I am somewhat familiar with these players and having a fun time trying to guess who is playing which character. As always you folks are entertaining.
Some folks have speculated as to what my guesses might be. Realize that I am hampered by distance, the changing cast of characters, and not knowing some of the players involved.
I have guesses as to the original four goblins. I will use first names only to protect the guilty and spare them any possible ridicule.
Rotfen = Jason
Shakk = Jess
Girzig = Karen
Kezug = Ryan
Feel free to belittle my empathic and detective skills.
Regardless, I am impressed by the level of creativity and dedication to fun exhibited by this group of players. Keep it up please.
CJ
Rotfen = Jason
Shakk = Jess
Girzig = Karen
Kezug = Ryan
Pass. (50% is a pass, right?)
You reversed Jess and Karen.