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Setting out from the Nomen Centaur compound, our "heroes" began the ride southwesterly, in search of some place called "The Valley of the Dead."
Confident that was merely a local euphemism for "Place to Get Amazing Loots," they rode with carefree hearts and (mostly) clear heads.
On the way there, they stumbled across a sizable herd of mastodon, content to graze away and not be bothered by Large birds on the ground, or their Medium burdens. The party, most especially Artemis, were not so contented, however. Ganon, in a characteristic move, went aloft via fly, setting off to procure a Huge, multi-ton "present" for Artemis.
Easily enough, the poor beast failed his save against Charm Monster, and began to follow his new, flying, man-shaped friend back to the group. Not to be outdone, Artemis also approached. She, unfortunately, remained mounted and on the ground. The bull of the group took some offense to her intrusion, and moved to trumpet his challenge at some 50 yards distant. Undeterred by that, Artemis declared her intention to get still closer (hoping to use Dominate Animal), and then, as they say, the fight broke out.
Ganon managed to gain initiative over everyone involved, both four- and two-legged, and settled the issue with another Charm Monster. Crestfallen at the ease with which (her IRL husband) he "stole" "her mastodon," Artemis cemented the newfound relationship by means of wild empathy. .
Now riding at the head of a mastodon herd, the group once again set off, discovering the ancient bones of a Crag Linnorm and stealing the skull.
Further South, their cloud of dust and almost-thunderstorm-like noise carried their presence to a bunch of degenerate thugs, just waiting for more squealing humanoids to fall into their twisted clutches. The party had finally found the Graul Scouts.
Cresting the hill, they were able to see the evidence of a decent-sized bonfire and wreckage of a wagon about 100 yards distant. Moving to engage, Hestia the Dwarf was the first to notice just who (or what) they approached: Ogrekin. 5 Ogrekin and 2 full Ogres stood at the ready, behind the wrecked wagon, while 3 more 'Kin stayed behind a bit. The screams (high-pitched and rather unpleasant) from that spot boded most ill to all who heard.
A brief scuffle ensued, with the 'Kin completely unable to land a blow while the Ogres themselves fared just as poorly. Giles, in a moment of boredom (I assume), elected to Solid Fog the majority of the 'Kin, rather than simply fireball them into smears of grease.
About the time Rilani got herself involved (in a big way - Charging Lance + Cavalier Challenge = Ouchy Ogre), an odd sight emerged from the cloud of carrion birds wheeling overhead. A female human, screaming all the way down, dropped from the sky, crashing through the ruined wagon in a cloud of splinters and flesh. The Graul Scout Leader had made his entrance.
Dropping the woman, enhancing his weapon, and turning invisible, I still had enough movement to begin closing on the party. Noone had perception magic running, or was able to break his spell-enhanced stealth rolls, so everyone continued to tear into the threats on the ground.
Another round or 2 passed with the 'Kin getting slaughtered with various AoE spells, one Ogre getting his head bashed in via Rage-Powered-Earthbreaker-Crit, while the other received his comeuppance from Rilani's new +2 Defending Longsword . Everything seemed to be aces, when from out of the sky a lightning-shrouded inbred monster slammed Hestia very very hard.
The fight was just beginning in earnest.
Scout Leader managed to really pour the hurt on, despite getting his various body parts smashed, chopped, stabbed, and shot. Of course, the Displacement helped out a LOT. Ganon saw the end of that spell just in the nick of time, as a Hasted Assault Full-Attack Spell-Combat Dragon's Breath put Hestia out of the fight and left most of the party in serious pain.
The party swarmed the melee monster, just happening to present Rilani (Human female), Hestia (Dwarf female), and Artemis (Human female) as prime, juicy targets. Laughing at his good luck, SL attempted to Spell Combat a Greater Invisibility before laying out the hurt, failing the concentration check by 4. Lucky break, as only Ganon had See Invisibility running at that point.
Sensing his end was approaching, and deciding to take out these pretender with him, him next turn he Spell Pool - Spell Strike'd Detonate and tried to take out as many foes as possible. Rilani soaked one good hit, Hal the Cohort absorbed another intended for Artemis, then Artemis herself caught one on the chin. Calling out the deadly effect of the spell brewing within the baddie, Giles launched another Fireball, erasing the last of the 'Kin from the field.
Everyone then moved far away from the incipient "boom," with Hal the Cohort once again leading the way. He took a fist to the face for his trouble, but cleared the AoO queue for his allies, allowing Rilani, Artemis, Altrum and Hal to exit the major blast zone. Giles managed to grab the unconscious dwarf and Dimension Door away. Ganon, smiling, dispelled SL's impending suicide run, earning him the unenviable title of MDF*.
Living up to his title, Ganon soon ate a Spellstrike Shocking Grasp claw, dropping him in one rib-crunching blow. Artemis, Altrum, and Rilani stepped up, however, with a longsword charge, Inflict Serious Wounds, and finally shotgun blasts bringing down the horrible beast.
Somehow, everyone managed to live through the fight (with the exception of 2 axe-beak mounts), and there was much rejoicing.
Resting, healing, and psychologically soothing the Ogrekins' victims took up the remainder of the night. On the morrow, Ganon sent them on their way with rations, extended Mount spells, and directions to Kamelot.
After picking through the choice bits of treasure (and applying much prestidigitation to the rancid, stinking Magus Spellbook/Blankie), the group set out once again to find and pacify the Valley of the Dead.
In short order, they discovered the ancient Cyclops burial grounds, at which point their new friends, the mastodon herd, balked. Saying goodbye to many tons of walking snack-packs, they proceeded west, further into the taboo area.
Soon, they discovered the ancient stone steps carved into the mountain, guarded by some brain-lovin' Dread Zombie Cyclops. Even with Flash of Insight and higher ground bonuses, they proved no match for the combined might of the party, yielding some new Large axes and armor.
Artemis, taking the form of a hunting falcon, ascended the heights rapidly, while her compatriots were forced to hoof it up the steps. Seeing the terrain atop the mountain, she once again spotted a very suspicious raven, apparently keeping watch over the stairs' exit.
Once the whole party reformed, Artemis snatched her weapon free, seeing the raven disappear in a puff of black feathers. For whatever reason, the commotion attracted the attention of a family of wyverns from the nearby bluffs. They posed literally no threat, however, as the party possesses quite formidable ranged combat abilities. They got as far as 190 or so feet away, just close enough to really see the venom and teeth the critters wield, before succumbing to shotgun, arrow, and fireball attacks. To add insult to injury, Giles included alchemist fire in his blast, lighting both Daddy and Baby Wyvern aflame.
We broke there, as Altrum's player was called in to work, and played through an "interlude" adventure: The Defense of the Sootscales.
Everyone is still Level 8, but will progress to the next quanta of power, assuming he or she survives, after the upcoming dungeon.
Many thanks to Turin the Mad for his assistance with the Graul Gang, and as always to everyone helping out in the "Converting to 6 Players" threads. They were most helpful!
rancid, stinking blankie ... gotta love it ^_^
Too bad they lived through it ... but the Magus does make an awesome antagonist class! :)
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Playing through Vordakai's Tomb, at the end of The Varnhold Vanishing, we resumed our game on the shores of the black mountain lake.
Setting up camp for the night, to rest and regain spells, a Soul Eater sails in out of the night. Intent on nomming the soul of Cleric Altrum Vicis, even being Charmed by Ganon proved insufficient to distract the Daemon from his prey. Friendly to the Sorcerer, he wanted to finish his current job before getting another target.
Plenty of bullets, hammer, and sword whomping later, the cloudy soul sucker poofed into smaller cloud and evil-bits. No sweet, sweet candy guts in there, though.
Pressing on, after a few extra hours of sleep, Artemis carried the party (plus Rilani's War-Chicken mount) over via wild shape, Ant Haul, and sundry other buffs. She had previously scouted the area as a little fast spy-sensor bird, and brought them directly to the elevated entrance. The doors and spells proved momentary distractions only.
With Artemis searching, all the listed DC's for perception and survival checks are pretty much auto-wins. Ciphal managed only 1 or 2 good attacks, spending his actions basically drawing the party into the rest of the dungeon.
From the tar room, they headed north and encountered the spectral dude. He proved quite troublesome, draining Giles and Ganon of 2 levels each, before getting put down violently. Looking for the many large undead creatures, whose cells they'd just discovered, they entered the Feasthall.
Inside there, 5 Advanced Cyclops Dread Zombies waited. Popping off Desecrate and Wall of Fire, the (not mindless) zombies grabbed up the stone chairs from the table and made ready to chuck rocks. A stand off passed for a couple of rounds; the party buffed while the patient undead waited. AoE spells and clever positioning around the pillars allowed the party to minimize the Cyke's attack angles. Concentrated fire, lance charges, and Hestia's very heavy hammer dropped the baddies right quick, but not quick enough to save Rilani.
Flash of Insight is wonderful, when the melee tank is sitting on AC 31 or so at level 8, it's essentially "do I crit on this one?". Towards teh end of the fight (5 Baddies, 4 of which nailed the Queen with nat-20 battleaxe attacks. If not for the crit cards, she'd have been dead in one round, rather than 2. Altrum, who'd stayed back well out of the fracas (maybe out of the room?), rushed in, Hasted, Breath of Life'd Rilani, and brought her back to life.
Up the stairs, the elder water elemental went ka-sploosh with a few heavy melee whacks. From there, nothing but a door blocked entrance to the Big V, himself. Inside, waited
XP 9,400
Male graveknight cyclops antipaladin5 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 52, Pathfinder #27 84, Advanced Player’s Guide 105)
CE Large undead (giant)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +22
Aura aura of cowardice, sacrilegeous aura 30 ft. (DC 24)
Defense
AC 30, touch 9, flat-footed 30 (+10 armor, +0 Dex, +11 natural, -1 size)
hp 131 (10d8+5d10+59)
Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +14
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, ferocity, rejuvenation; DR 10/magic; Immune cold, electricity, fire, undead traits; SR 20
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 greataxe +22/+17/+12 (3d6+17/×3 plus 3d6 fire); using Power Attack +22/+14/+9 (3d6+26/x3 plus 3d6 fire)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks channel destruction, channel negative energy (2d6, DC 15), cruelty (fatigued; DC 15), devastating blast 3/day (8d6 fire, 30-ft. cone, DC 20), smite good 2/day (+3 attack, +4 damage, +3 deflection bonus to AC while smiting), touch of corruption 7/day (2d6 negative energy+fatigued Fort DC 15), undead mastery (DC 20)
Spell-Like Ability (CL 4th)
At will- detect good
Spells (CL 1st)
1st- protection from good,
Tactics
Morale Vordakai’s champion fights until destroyed, fully expecting to rejuvenate.
Statistics
Str 32, Dex 10, Con —, Int 12, Wis 19, Cha 16
Base Atk +12; CMB +24; CMD 34
Feats Alertness, Cleave, Dreadful Carnage, Furious Focus, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-by Attack, Toughness
Skills Handle Animal +8, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +22, Profession (soothsayer) +13, Ride +10, Sense Motive +11, Survival +9
Languages Common, Cyclops, Giant
SQ aura of evil, flash of insight, phantom mount, plaguebringer, ruinous revivification, unholy resilience
Gear standard (Large +1 full plate mail, Large +1 greataxe)
Special Abilities
Channel Destruction (Su) Any weapon this graveknight wields is shrouded in destructive energy, and deals an additional 3d6 fire damage.
Devastating Blast (Su) Three times per day this graveknight may unleash a 30-foot cone of destructive force, dealing 8d6 fire damage. Creatures within the area may make a Reflex save for half damage (DC 20).
Flash of Insight (Su) Once per day as an immediate action, a cyclops can peer into an occluded visual spectrum of possible futures, gaining insight that allows it to select the exact result of one die roll before the roll is made. This effect can alter an action taken by the cyclops only, and cannot be applied to the rolls of others.
Phantom Mount (Su) Once per hour, a graveknight can summon a skeletal horse similar to a phantom steed (but it is large enough to carry the cyclops). This mount is more real than a typical phantom steed, and can carry one additional rider. The phantom steed’s powers are based on the graveknight’s total Hit Dice rather than caster level. A graveknight’s mount looks distinctive and always appears the same. If the mount is destroyed, it can be summoned again with full hit points 1 hour later.
Rejuvenation (Su) One day after a graveknight is destroyed, its armor begins to rebuild the undead warrior’s body. This process takes 1d10 days – if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the armor merely starts the process anew. After this time has elapsed, the graveknight wakens fully healed. (See PF #27, page 85 for more about a graveknight’s armor, which acts like a phylactery, but is tougher than a typical phylactery.)
Ruinous Revivification (Su) Fire was relevant to this graveknight’s life or death, and influences several of its special abilities.
Sacrilegious Aura (Su) A graveknight constantly exudes an aura of intense evil and negative energy in a 30-foot radius. This aura functions as the spell desecrate, which the graveknight constantly gains the benefits of. In addition, this miasma of fell energies hinders the channelling of positive energy in this area – such as through a cleric’s channel energy ability, a paladin’s lay on hands, or any spell with the healing descriptor – must make a concentration check with a DC of 24. If the character fails, the effect is blocked, its number of uses of that ability being reduced by 1 or the spell being lost. The relevant bonuses have not been included above.
Undead Mastery (Su) As a standard action, a graveknight can attempt to bend any undead creature within 50 feet to its will. The targeted undead must make a successfull Will save or fall under the graveknight’s control. This control is permanent for unintelligent undead, while undead with Intelligence scores are allowed an additional save every day to break free from the graveknight’s control. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same graveknight’s undead mastery for 24 hours. This graveknight can control 70 Hit Dice worth of undead creatures. If the graveknight exceeds this number, it loses control over some of its minions, as per the spell animate dead.
Fiendish Boon (Sp) The first type of bond allows the antipaladin to enhance his weapon as a standard action by calling upon the aid of a fiendish spirit for 1 minute per antipaladin level. When called, the spirit causes the weapon to shed unholy light as a torch. At 5th level, this spirit grants the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus. For every three levels beyond 5th, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon bonuses to a maximum of +5, or they can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: anarchic, flaming, flaming burst, keen, speed, unholy, vicious, vorpal, and wounding.
Between the two of them, they managed to down Hestia with massive axe-swinging bad-time, and Giles with a poorly saved Phantasmal Killer. Resistance to Fire, Protection from Evil, and being not-Good in general, all kept them up through several rounds of toe-to-toe swinging. Midway through, Big V offered Giles a position on board, which he spurned. Spurned by means of Acid-Lightning-Ball refusal, I may add.
After that, and seeing Little V go down (after taking out the hammer-swinging Dwarf, at least), he tried the hail-mary; Phantasmal Killer on the Wizard. It landed, for once, and Giles the Egomaniac Evoker went down for the count.
Hestia was Reincarnated into a Gnome, which was rectified with judicious application of Deathknell. Next Reincarnate turned up Human, which was allowed to go on through. Brunner, Giles' player's new PC, popped out when the Soul Jar Big V carried was smashed. Some 42 citizens and a brand new Level 9 Oracle of Life were freed, in total. All the PC's leveled up as well, and the remaining upper areas were cleared room-by-room.
Left in the dungeon to be done: the entire lower level, annexation, and exfiltration.
We'll see how the group plays out with a full-on dedicated healer.
This Valley has earned it's name in the past few days. The 40+ members of Varnhold we saved hardly eases my thoughts of those that were likely eaten alive and how easily we could have shared that torment. Watching Giles and Hestia succumb quickly in combat gave me a greater sense of peace at their passing, however cynical or depraved that may sound. Hestia now resides in the shell of a human; likely attached to the power inherent in an endless existence as long as that druid is around. Hopefully they will learn to accept when their time comes, otherwise it will be a harsh lesson for them both. Giles has since accepted his demise and will wait to be judged, though I am hesitant to clear out whatever "dirty laundry" he may have kept in that tower. Too many screams and well timed lightning bolts put a real damper on the surrounding real estate.
The presence of that liche's jeweled eye and the grand chamber suffuse with demonic energy make a potent combination with a valley of cycloptean corpses. Purification would be too taxing and there are no assurances of destroying that room and the focus of its evil. I may have to use Artemis to speak with that coven she associates with. That valley must be destroyed or buried deep enough to keep it from haunting the future of our kingdom. Whatever lies there, moving or not, will only hurt us.
In any case, I need to remember to council the victims of Varnhold for their return. I have grand plans for their settlement. No more of these clashes with the Centaur. They will integrate and be stronger for it. Besides, I doubt they will stick with the paltry defenses of barn animal fences when I can give them "Vordakai's Fall" fortress. The desiccated remains of his foul corpse will make excellent mortar for the monument to our victory.
Halstein: Hey boss, I had this wicked strange dream last night. I imagined an army of Centaurs RIDING those mammoths we found. It was so tits. They were like "Oh shit, you didn't expect that" and I was like "hella-no theys wasn't!"
First off, never interrupt my ruminating with your voice. Second, if you ever speak like that again I'll make you bleed out your *$#% and &@#!$% for a month. Third, that dream is stupid. The notion that centaurs would ride anything violates some law of nature or rule in some book.
Minor
Potion Cure Modx2
+1 Padded Armor
+1 Sickle
+1 Flaming Vicious Keen Glaive
+1 Heavy Pick
+1 Lightsteel Shield
Potion of Bears Endurance
Scroll of Webx2
Scroll of Fireball
Oil of Darkness
Scroll of Magic Missle
+1 Chainmail
Potion of Cats Grace
+1 Handaxe
Medium
+1 Imp. Shadow SR 15 Banded Mail
+3 Flaming Burst Axiomatic Composite Longbow +2 Str.
Rod of Flame Extinguishing
Rod of the Viper
+3 Adamantine Scythe
Manual of Quickness +1
+2 Imp. Slick/Shadow Light Fortification Chainshirt (God we need a Rogue)
Rod of Splendor
Major
Scroll Power Word Kill
Staff of Passage
Staff of Fire(second time this has come up)
Staff of Healing
+4 Vicious Thundering Greataxe
+4 Imp. Energy Res. Sonic Halfplate of Invulnerability
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This Sunday, January 30, we will resume our KM game, after too long of a time.
Cast of Characters:
Artemis, Human Druid 9
Ganon, Half-Elf (???) Infernal Sorcerer 9
Hestia, Human Barbarian 9
Rilani, Human Cavalier 9
Brunner, Human Oracle of Life 9
Altrum, Half-Orc Oracle/Cleric 9
with Hal the Fighter 7 Cohort (Human?)
If there are any changes / omissions here, let me know.
If anyone would like to set their primary character aside to make a Gunslinger (Fighter variant), Ninja (Rogue variant), or Samurai (Cavalier variant), let me know. The playtest is on until the 14th of February, and I'd like to get some tabletime in on those classes.
Alternatively, if any of you Char-Gen fools (like myself) want to stat up a few CR 10-15 versions of said baddies, using Elite Array (possibly with Advanced Template) and standard NPC Wealth-By-Level, that'd be great.
Just throw them up on Googledocs and/or email them over to me, and we'll see how much YOU like getting shot with bullets.
Reminder: we are still in the "explore and claim" mode of The Varnhold Vanishing, and have yet to broach the 4th adventure, Blood for Blood.
So, what's going on with your campaign ?
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well...another fun (ish) day of exploration and complete decimation of all opposition for our intrepid heroes.
Setting out through the Glenebon Uplands, they wandered around for a bit, cataloging their newly "explored" terrain - acquired whole from the annexation of Varnhold.
Along the way, they encountered Kankerata, the Underwhelming. He may have burrowed like Bugs Bunny, he may have had a ridiculous AC & potential for good nom'ing times, but he couldn't roll for poop.
The big landshark fell easily enough to combined damage from Rilani's charge & Hestia's 3d6+30 or so hammer swings. The group elected to salvage more armor plate than meat from the big (not so) bad beasty, and pressed on.
The dice once again agreed with the players, and no nasty little surprises leapt out to nom them, at least not until they got to the southeastern corner of the map.
Here, they encountered a strange, red-lacquered armored knight, who stepped out from the trees and charged the (Roc-Shaped) Artemis. Little did they know, this was the deadly Playtest Samurai
LE
Str. 20 HP = 130
Dex. 15 BAB = 13/8/3
Con. - Init = +6
Int. 12
Wis. 12
Cha. 16
(Power attack and Deadly Aim Calculated)
2H Katana +22, 1d10+21 (+34 on Challenged Target), 17-20x2 (+6 Confirm)
Full = +22/13/8
Comp. Longbow = +12, 1d8+13, x3 (+4 Confim)
Full = +12/7/2
AC = 10+10+2+4+1 = 27
FF = 25
T = 13
Saves = 9/7/6
Feats
B-Imp Initiative
B-Toughness
H-Power Attack
-Weapon Focus Katana
-Dazzling Display
-Furious Focus
B-Shatter Defenses
-Deadly Aim
-Greater Weapon Focus Katana
-Critical Focus
B-Deadly Stroke
-Imp. Crit Katana
Skills
Climb 13+3+5+8
Intimidate 13+3+3
Ride 13+3+2
Sense Motive 13+3+1
Swim 13+3+5
Abilities
Undead Traits
Channel Resistance +4
DR 10/Magic and Slashing
Fire Resistance 10
Immune Cold/Electricity/Magic Missle
Mount
Ronin
Challenge = +4 Attack, +4 Dodge against a "mutually challenged target"
Self Reliant = Reroll failed Will Save at the end of Second Round
Without Master = Immidiate, reroll a critical confirmation roll.
Resolve 7/day
Determined, (not really necessary being undead)
Resolute, Immidiate, on a fort or ref save roll twice and take better result
Unstoppable, (More Useless)
Greater Resolve, Immidiate, Critical against you is instead just a normal hit
Challenge 5/day, Swift (-2 AC against other attackers, +13 dmg)
Demanding Challenge, opponent has -2 AC against attackers other than you.
Weapon Expertise, Quickdraw Katana, +2 Crit Confim
Mounted Archer, -2 on rolls while mounted, -4 if mounted double moves
Banner, allies within 60ft +3 Fear Saves, +3 attack on a charge
Honorable Stand, Swift 1/day, duration of challenge spend 1 resolve to reroll any failed save.
62 GP
+2 Bastard Sword
Composite Longbow, +5 Str.
60 Arrows
Banded Mail of Luck, 1/week force a reroll on an attack against you.
Amulet Natural Armor+1
Ring Prot+1
Efficient Quiver
Cloak Resistance+1
I was rightly impressed with his durability and offensive capability, since with challenge, he was able to drop Artemis from full to brink of death in 2 charges & 1 AoO. Unfortunately, he kept rolling 16's, just shy of the happy-dm-crit-range. :(
Of course, the masked rider went down in a flurry of smashes, lance charges, and direct damage spells.
Along about that time, the tinkling peal of a poorly tuned banjo began sounding, along with snarls, growls, barks, and squeals.
The next thing anyone knew, 2 Advanced Dire Wolves & an Advanced Dire Boar crashed through the tree line (literally), Raged, Hasted, and Inspired with Courage. Crowfood Craul stepped up to the plate, hoping to bring back some tasty snacks home for Mammy.
CR 10
Male Ogrekin Bard 9
CE Medium Humanoid (Giant)
Init +8; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +16
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +6 Armor, +1 Deflection)
hp 103 (9d8+67)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; +4 vs. Bards, Sonic Effects, and Language-Dependant effects
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 Ogrehook +11 1d10+16 20/x3 (Including Arcane Strike & Power Attack)
or Whip +12 1d6+6 nonlethal (disarm +14, trip +12)
Space 10 ft.Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 17, Con 20, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 20;
Base Atk +6/+1; CMB 12; CMD 25
Bard Spells (CL 9, Concentration +14, DC 15+Spell Level)
Bardic Performance: (27 Rounds / Day)
Inspire Courage +2, Inspire Competence +3, Countersong, Distraction, Fascinate, Suggestion, Dirge of Doom, Inspire Greatness, Versatile Performance (Bluff, Diplomacy), Lore Master (1/day take 20, all the time take 10 Knowledge)
Cantrips: Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Lullaby, Know Direction, Message, Summon Instrument
1st (6/day): Animate Rope, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Unseen Servant
2nd (5/day): Cure Moderate Wounds, Heroism, Invisibility, Rage
3rd (4/day): Charm Monster, Haste, See Invisibility, Speak with Animals
Feats Arcane Armor Training, Arcane Strike, Armor Proficiency (Medium), Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Toughness,
Skills Acrobatics +13, Appraise +5, Climb +5, Craft (Trapmaking) +15, Disguise +16, Intimidate +17, Know(History) +5, Know(Local) +16, Know(Nobility) +5, Handle Animal +13, Perform (Strings) +10, Perception +14, Sense Motive +15, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +13; Racial Modifiers -4 on all Cha-based skills
Gear: Banjo, +1 Ogre Hook, Ring of Deflection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Masterwork Breastplate
Haste (1/level 1 rd/lvl) = +1 [Dodge] Attack, AC, Reflex, +30’ Movement
Heroism (1 target 10 min/lvl) = +2 [Morale] Attack, Saves, Skill Checks
Inspire Greatness (1 target) = +2d10 HP, +2 [Competence] to Attack, +1 to Fort
Inspire Courage (all who hear) = +2 [Competence] Attack/Damage, +2 Will Vs. Fear
Rage (3 targets, Concen. +1 rd/lvl) = +2 [Morale] on Str/Con, +1 Morale on Will, -2 AC.
Alas, it was not to be. Even Invisible, stealthing, and staying pretty far away, Ganon was able to spot the degenerate Bard (stupid See Invisibility spell) and call fire down on his position.
The only bright spot in the fight was Rilani getting tossed on her tuckis from 2 charging, raging Dire Wolves. Together, they managed to land some 50 or so damage on her, knocking her off her Axe Beak (chicken). The party regrouped around her and was able to eliminate the doggies before they could move in for the kill, sadly.
Once Ganon deposited Rilani, Hestia, and himself across the map (and right next to poor Crowfood), the fight was over. The poor ugly little Bard tried mightily, swinging for the fences with his Arcane Strike Ogrehook against Hestia. Rolling consecutive 3, 2, 1, I was speechless. At least he Nat-20'd the fumble confirmation, so no fumble for him.
With their master out of the question, the remaining critters were easily enough put down, and the party proceeded to find a certain friendly bear, trapped in a bear trap. Following said bear up into the hills, they soon found a strange sight.
(for those in the know, this is NOT the way the original setup read...)
Heading into the barn first, as the bear so politely indicated, the group met some more well-groomed, nice-smelling fellows, standing around a polished, bubbling still. They took some offense to the interruption, pulled pistols, and attempted to perforate Rilani. That worked about as well as expected, and an extremely brief scuffle ensued, resulting in 3 bleeding Graul boys, and some dead doggies (not advanced, just regular ol' Ogrekin Fighter 2 (Gunslinger variants).
Moving into the well-kept barn, the group found the back door stuck beyond their capability to move. Easy enough, Rilani just chopped through, exposing the culprit: lots & lots of thick spiderwebs.
The group moved in, freeing the Black Arrow prisoners and avoiding the poison-dart traps in the locks. About that time, Biggun (Triple Advanced Giant Drider Sorcerer 4) decided to come up and play.
Being fairly overconfident, he only had Stoneskin, Mage Armor, Cat's Grace, See Invisibility, and Levitate running, eschewing Shield, Blink, Bear's Endurance for the moment. This was an unpleasant surprise for the party, as a Huge spider-caster-monster basically appeared right in their midst, popping off a Cone of Cold which hit almost everyone.
Ganon, of course, had already Energy Resistance, Mass'd everyone for all 5 energy types, so the attack was only moderately successful. Thus began a frustrating "why can't I hit it!?!" battle.
Ganon, right off the bat, took a Quickened True Strike powered bite, failing the DC 24 Fort save and losing 2 (of his 7) Str immediately. That would continue for the next 5 rounds, until he finally saved with 1 or 2 Str remaining.
Timely Dispel Magic saved the day, while Artemis forgot which end of her shotgun the hurty bits come from. She Fumbled not once, but twice, nailing herself with damage both times (yay, Fumble Cards!!!). The second one ended up being "Punctured Lung" on the confirmed Critical Hit, and it was a close thing for the Druid drowning on her own blood.
Biggun went down shortly thereafter, with teamwork from everyone providing all the To Hit buffs they could.
From there, the group tried to decide: do we burn this place down, or clear the other building first.
Once a few of them began seeing through the Miage Arcana spell running over everything, and they saw the filth, bones, and other nastiness, the decision was made: burn it.
Torching the barn really irked Mammy, though, causing her to send the Culled, Fallen, and Uncle-Dad Ruckus out to see these intruders off.
Stats to follow in next post. That fight was mostly unsatisfactory, since even Flying, Enlarged Ruckus couldn't do much against Artemis and her nasty nasty shotgun, especially when he was Dazed on a critical for 2-3 rounds. The Skeletal Champions proved a small challenge to Rilani (mostly with the DR/Bludgeoning), but they too fell easily enough. We wrapped the session there, with the group about to go "explore" the Farmhouse, hoping to find the mastermind behind these Ogrekin assaults.
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Culled Graul Brothers
Advanced Skeletal Champion Ogrekin Fighter 2
Chaotic Evil Medium Undead; CR 5
Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 14, flat-footed 19 (+5 Dex, +4 Armor +4 natural)
hp 47 (5d8+22);
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +9; DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune: Cold, Undead Traits; Channel Resistance +4
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft
Melee Masterwork Ogre hook +12 1d10+16 (including Power Attack)
or 2 claws +7 (1d4+11) (including Power Attack)
Special Attacks Precise Strike (+1d6 when flanking), Gang Up (Flank so long as 2 allies are threatening that opponent)
STATISTICS
Str 28, Dex 21, Con -, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; CMB +12; CMD 27
Feats Improved Initiative(B), Power Attack, WF: Ogre Hook, Combat Expertise, Precise Strike, Gang Up, Iron Will
Skills Disguise +12, Intimidate +12, Perception +9, Stealth +11
Languages Common
SPECIAL ABILITIES Undead Traits, Bravery +1
Gear Masterwork Ogrehook, Chain Shirt
Skeletal Travellers
Advanced Skeleton
NE Medium Undead
XP 600
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 ( +4 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 6 (1d8+2)
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +4;
DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits;
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4+4)
Space 5 ft.Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 18, Con 4, Int 4, Wis 14, Cha 14;
Base Atk +0; CMB 4; CMD 18
Feats Improved InitiativeB
Uncle-Dad Ruckus da Ranseur Choppah’
XP 3,200
Male Advanced ogrekin Human fighter 9
CE Medium Humanoid (Giant) CR 10
Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 27, touch 14, flat-footed 23 (+5 natural armor, +4 Dex, +8 Armor)
hp 121 (9d10+63)
Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +6; Defensive Abilities
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee +1 Ranseur +18/+13 (2d4+25 20/x3) [Overhand Chop +30] (Power Attack Included)
or Battleaxe +15/10 (1d8+15 20/x3) (Power Attack Included)
Reach 10 ft. (from ranseur)
STATISTICS
Str 28, Dex 18, Con 22, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +9; CMB +14 (+2 sunder); CMD 24 (25 vs. Disarm and Sunder)
Special Attacks: Vital Strike, Overhand Chop: Double Str bonus Dmg on single attacks, Backswing: Double Str bonus Dmg on all attacks after 1st in full-attack.
Feats: Cleave, Great Cleave, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Pushing Assault, Weapon Focus (Ranseur), Weapon Specialization (Ranseur), Vital Strike, Greater Weapon Focus (Ranseur)
Skills Handle Animal +11, Intimidate +15, Survival +13, Perception +11; Racial bonus: +4 Intimidate
Languages Common, Giant
SQ Armor Training 1, Deformities, Weapon Training 2 (two handed weapons)
Gear +1 ranseur; Belt of Giant Strength +2; favorite blanket (ratty, flea-infested, and decorated with several Black Arrow insignias), +1 Breastplate w/ Armored Kilt
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Weapon Training: +2 Attack/Damage w/ 2-handed weapons
Deformities: Rukus is particularly mean-looking and gains a +4 Racial bonus on Intimidate checks. He cannot wield weapons in his deformed right hand (effectively a single Giant finger) and suffers a -2 penalty on attacks with two-handed weapons.
Sir Hamster, I do declare ... your Grauls are coming at them piecemeal, for shame!
Although had Rukus gotten ahold of the ladies of the party, that giant finger would have suddenly become of great concern ...
All hail the banjos!
Oh indeedy...I have been grossly underestimating their capabilities.
Something about high level play (really, anything over 7ish I start second guessing myself.)
Rest assured, a certain kingdom will be getting some much needed arcane & martial support soon.
(Also: ogrekin + guns = fun)
Graul ogrekin gunslinger and magus skirmish units ? :)
yep...magus is gonna have to wait a bit to re-appear, but rest assured, that little ol lady and her 25 Int are not gonna be waiting around to be slaughtered like piggies, oh no sirree bob.
I did use the ravenous Magus to great effect earlier, he almost took out half the party by himself, too!
Glad to hear that. My group will face the entire clan of hungry banjo-playin' hillbilly mutants ... either this coming or the very next session afterward.
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Short short form of CJ post...longer one to come later...
Party blazes through Graul Homestead, destroying poor Muck with aplomb, looting the place thoroughly, and set the house alight. No other living creatures were found within, but lots of ugly, nasty, trapped thingies rested inside.
From there, they explored a bunch of mountain hexes, running afoul of an Advanced Peluda. The elephantine dragon gave the heroes a run for their money, with several Choco-chickens being critically wounded and Rilani (plus her own, special Chicken) succumbing to nasty nasty Con Damage poison. They all got better, though, and pressed on for further adventure.
Further to the northwest, a ginormous bird took interest in the merely Huge bird-form Artemis flies around as, but was unable to surprise her with a swooping dive. End result: Dominated, Wild Empathy'd, Charmed Roc, one less riding-chicken, and a distinct lack of caring about terrain features, rivers, and the like from now on.
The party talked the bird out of her eggs (convincing through Speak With Animals, Bluff, Wild Empathy, and more Charm) and brought the 5 with them in a rig being carried by Artemis.
Back at Kamelot, the group took some time off to run their burgeoning Barony, staving off an assassination attempt on the King's life (or should he be called the Royal Consort), a brief foray out to annihilate some Boggards, and finally a super-fun assassination attempt on Artemis.
The Gninja Gnome managed to talk her way into the royal chambers, disguised as a common Kobold servant. Knocking on the door, she delivered her smokebomb and tried to fade out of sight, (mostly successfully) to get Artemis when she comes down off "high-alert" status.
Of course, with her shotgun blasting, the whole party woke up, and it required all of my cunning Gnomish Gninja tricks to stay alive.
Highlights from that encounter:
Surrounded and stuck in a corner, GG sends off her Shadow Clone double between Artemis and Rilani, before Vanishing Trick invisible. Everyone falls for the illusion, except Artemis, who points out it was an illusory effect. Ganon, with his cursed See Invisibility, stayed in the fight, pointing at the square GG stood in.
About that time, Hestia came charging into the scene, only to find a 3' tall grey-clad Gnomish Gninja running full-tilt at her, knife in hand. Failing her will save, she swings for the fences, but fails to connect on her hated foe. Instead, she smashes a good chunk of the flagstone floor.
Undeterred, she gives chase, tearing through the castle's hallways, after the shadow-clone GG. On her very next turn, she manages to save against the illusion, and begin her trek back to the encounter area.
The rest of the party, meanwhile, are trying to position around GG's smoke clouds, trying to keep her from escaping (or finishing the job.) Finally, seeing her future fate, charmed by Ganon, and facing a foe who cannot be affected by poison, she fled out an arrowslit.
Ganon brought most of the party out to search (sans Artemis, who came out next as a diminutive bat), but the assassin was nowhere to be found.
Breaking there, the Queen received a fairly dire message from Roy Lezbin, from Tatzlford, asking for assistance against a large army of barbarians, bandits, and giants.
What will the "heroes" do?
Will they be able to defend Tatzlford?
Who was that masked Gnome in grey? And why was Artemis targeted for assassination, again?
Will embezzling be the downfall of the kingdom?
Just what will everyone do with thousands upon thousands of GPs?
Stay tuned, for all these questions, and more, will be answered next time!
New Major Items
-Staff of Swarming Insects
-Ring Spell Storing Major
-Scroll Greater Shout, CL15
-Well of Many Worlds
-Eyes of Charming
-Rod of Security
-+4 Fullplate of Greater Energy Res. Cold
Sir Hamster,
My group has just gone and kicked the proverbial hornet's nest. In broad daylight, clear killing ground around the village of Varnhold.
Hucker, Biggun', Chuckles and Drooler are beating a 280'/round beeline towards the clunp of PC's whilst Crowfood and Mammy have the 8 boys under total cover while they finish dropping haste on themselves. Rukus also has total cover having just dropped a haste on himself and his five "hounds".
Rukus will hang back in reserve with the dawgs while Crowfood and Mammy wait a round to see what the PCs bring to bear on them I'm thinking.
Three of the PCs have SR up, which is definitely going to make things dicey for the boys, less so for the "grown ups". I'm hoping to incinerate Da Mystic Theurge in one or two rounds. The mystic theurge, palizard (courtesy of Draggy), cultist and monkette all have SR 23 or 24. Two I believe have energy protection up as well.
Whaddya think?
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I'd go ahead & blast em from afar, and hope a few of the fireballs'll land home.
Hopefully that'll scatter the PC's out of clump formation. Once the lads get stuck in, you could 'port maybe Ruckus, Mammy, and/or some undead over to threaten.
Once they get in close, detonate is a fantastic deterrent against simply mobbing the boys, and the damage should be minimal (they do have resist energy prepped, right?).
Pop some clouds and consider a tactical retreat if one or two go down (the boys, not the PC's ), & if you can drop one PC, don't hesitate to Spell Combat - scoop & d-door.
That'll bring em running back to Varnhold, & you can enjoy poison spikes, pit traps, and all that tastiness.
You've seen their spellbooks, so I'll tweak things a bit so that the clan can 'port in closer, unleash counterbattery fire and see what unfolds from there.
This Mammy isn't a necromancer, so undead minions aren't an option. Rukus does have the pack of hounds "on call".
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Ah...forgot I still had the email in my inbox. At work currently, so web access is limited.
Looking over the list...a HALO style freefall entrance while M tosses a few spells out could prove tasty.
Spell Combat w/ glitterdust to lead off, and let the sparkles serve as beacons for incoming artillery strikes.
If you put 2-3 of the (hasted, flying, spider-climbed) boys in & amongst the party, anyone who breaks formation to use ranged/spells becomes prime target for the Mammy/Ruckus/Doggy blanket party.
This way, anyone who can shrug off the fireballs can be doggy chow/arrow pillows, and once the party healer shows its face (one of the dolls, no?), it becomes target numero uno.
Alternatively, let the boys use fly & haste to dogfight amongst the party, with the intention to pull them back to the home turf (&mammy).
'Porting in at 60 yards overhead let's them dogfight with medium and long range firepower. A win-win, although it will take a bit longer for them to get into position. I'm betting this gets spiders, "hounds" and at least a few buildings fired. ^_^ Destruction of loot is always a good thing.
The "artillery battery" can (thanks to Molly Missy and the APG) lay down four or five fireballs per round for 2 or 3 rounds, which gets Hucker and Rukus in the mix PDQ (as the cottage-sized creepy crawlies and the five horse-sized intelligent "hounds" are likely to get fried). What I'm hoping is that the maximized fireballs are expended on the cannon fodder and a building or two before Crowfood, Mammy and the boys 'port in and lay waste with their counterbattery fire.
Sometimes it is good to be the GM.
Sir Hamster,
In just over a week we can look forward to some "ultraviolence". Any estimates on a body count?
P.S.: the KGM lights his group up tomorrow morning. I'm betting he has one, *maybe* two survivors...
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Sir Hamster,
In just over a week we can look forward to some "ultraviolence". Any estimates on a body count?
P.S.: the KGM lights his group up tomorrow morning. I'm betting he has one, *maybe* two survivors...
depending on how the start of the game goes, at least 2 may be dead before we even start the next book.
as far as the encounters in Blood for Blood, that 1st big fight could reasonably drop 1 or 2, if they're foolhardy or greedy enough.
Knowing my players, however, I expect all sorts of shenanigans to take place, and somehow they end up with an army of ravaging monsters under their aegis.
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And, we're back from Hiatus. At least, we will be come Sunday, March 13th.
For those that don't remember:
Our last encounter was with a certain Grey Gninja Gnome, who fled after attempting to slay one of you in the palace.
If I recall correctly, we broke right after that, when Queen Rilani received a message from nearby Tatzlford.
The gist of said message: They're Gonna Be In Our Base, Killing Our Dudes!
The actual message:
Greetings, my liege lords! Would that I had the opportunity to contact you via missive in gentler times. Since its founding, Tatzlford has faced many challenges, but recent rumors of a much more disturbing sort abound. A woman has come to Tatzlford bearing warnings that, if they are to be believed, indicate we may face a terrible threat. She speaks of armies of bandits, hordes of barbarians, and worse organizing to the west beyond Hooktongue Slough. To date we have had no trouble with these elements, but this woman is quite convincing. She tells us an army is marching on Tatzlford. If this is true, we will need your aid in defending our homes. Please come as soon as you can.
-In good faith, you obedient and humble servant, Mayor Roy Lezbin.
Bring your "A Game" folks, because it just started getting real!
Citizens of Kamelot, Haven, Varnhold, and all who would bring prosperity to our kingdom,
I don't know how today's events will unfold or how the truth will be veiled tomorrow. During my recent administrative duties I was informed of crimes against the people. No petty offense this is, for it has stirred in me a hatred stalled by outside threats. The beasts in these stolen lands came at me in hunger, assaults by bandits blinded by desperation, wretched horrors pleading to join them in their torment...all forgivable by the nature of circumstance. Those that would conspire and choose to diminish the lives of a just people are likewise damned by those just people.
But for the heinous, unjustifiable, evil that causes even the lady of graves herself to weep, know that you have gone well beyond the bounds of mercy.
I know only the perpetrators but not the co-conspirators. I find it's easily discovered after their blades are at my back.
I will meet these wolves in sheeps clothing and show them what the indomitable will of man and unbridled orchish fury can create. If their graves in the Boneyard are not filled, I will drag them into mine.
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After a too-long, work-induced hiatus, Kamelot's intrepid rulers once again set out to adventure in the Stolen Lands.
This time, though, they lost one of their party (well, one and a half, since cohorts are only partial credit) before even leaving the city.
Resuming almost immediately after the failed Gninja assassination attempt, Rilani received an Animal Messenger carried note from one Mayor Roy Lezbin.
Between the repelling of the Gninja and receipt of that message, Altrum Vicis, Counsellor, Mayor, and City-Planner, slipped into the night. Not present at breakfast, the party used bunches of divination magic and information gathered to piece together what happened. With no evidence of foul play, everything neatly packed and vacated, and the missing party obviously on another plane, they concluded their cleric left under his own power. Attempts to contact and scry failed, so the group "cut it's losses."
Luckily enough, a resident Professor of Thaumaturgy, PhD, one Enrol the Transmuter, worked at the Kamelot Academy. Ready for some thrilling adventure, he approached Brunner the Oracle with an offer to swap city-positions, and took over the role of Magister.
The party now consists of:
Ganon Malfoy, Infernal Sorcerer and Grand Diplomat
Artemis Gayle, Growth Druid, Mistress of the Melisae, and State Warden
Hestia, Elemental Barbarian and Royal Headswoman
Brunner the Oracle, Party Healer, and now City Counsellor/Mayor
Rilani Astin Marten,Order of the Cockatrice Cavalier and Duchess of Kamelot (soon to be Queen)
Enrol the Transmuter, Scroll-Keeper and Royal Magister.
(the other city-government positions are handled by cohorts)
Setting off immediately after scrying, scribing, and scroll-purchasing (meaning, a day after the message arrived), Ganon managed to Teleport the party (with Reduce Animal helping to transport Boko the Royal Chicken) with the assistance of his Diviner cohort. Popping in about a mile east of Tatzlford, they walked/rode/flew into town with banners flying. Receiving the expected warm and royal welcome, Roy and Latricia got right down to business.
Kissandra the Exiled Noble-Girl spilled her sorry story, relating the disposition and numbers of the incoming assault force, and begging for help. Showing themselves to once again be "Big Damn Heroes," the PC's set up some defenses.
First, Enrol wandered off to find a ready barn wall, pulling some interesting Magical Pigments out. After a quick mural, out popped a ready-to-fire masterwork Ballista.
Ganon Teleported off to Kamelot, in search of some artillery of his own, acquiring a Wand of Fireballs and some archers from their Guard barracks.
Rilani, and Hestia set up bunches of fire-traps (with oil, high-proof booze, and a few Alchemist Fire flasks) across the bridge.
Brunner, along with Latricia, Roy, and any other NPCs they could wrangle, set up earthworks and covered positions in the "town square" between the bridge and town hall.
Artemis channeled her inner Aquaman and swam about the river, seeking to populate the crossing with as many carnivorous critters as possible. She even went so far as to bleed herself into the water, in the hopes the smell would attract even more nom-happy animal buddies.
The Battle for Tatzlford progressed as expected. A small horde of barbarians, bandits, and trolls swarmed from the north, along the western bank of the river. Encountering the Temple of Erastil first, they looted it, burning it to the ground once they realized everything of value had already been removed.
They completely missed Thrillseekers, as the bridge (and rest of the city) presented itself well before they got that far. Ameon Trask, with the assistance of a Wandering Bard Mercenary and good old Mammy Graul, sent his men screaming in.
They kept screaming for a while, too, since the Fire Trapped Bridge worked excellently. Barbarians performed the tiberium candle dance before receiving 3' long feathered decorations, and the first charge faltered quickly.
Taking cover (and receiving plenty of buff-spells), the remaining Archers, along with their leaders, pot shotted across the river. They dealt minimal damage, but still managed to put some hurt on the good guys. Ganon quickly took them out of the equation with a Cloudkill spell tossed in their midst.
That left a burning bridge to cross, over a carnivore-infested river, and half a dozen Extra-Badass-Trolls (triple Advanced). Those same trolls soon received Enlarge Person, Mass, Good Hope,and Inspire Courage. The two being kept in reserve with Mammy and da Bard also turned invisible, thanks to da Bard's Invisibility Sphere.
Engaging these Huge threats at the earthworks, the party made fairly short work of them. Even buffed as well as they were, they still rolled like poop. Artemis and her Roc-Buddy (Enterprise) took one out of the fight with the assistance of a 100+ point round from Hestia. Fireballs, Charm Monsters(with Persistent and Bouncing added in), and good old swords slew these monsters after a brief scuffle.
Ganon managed to "keep" two of the trolls, using them to good effect in the after-action-cleanup.
Mammy and da Bard managed to escape, though, causing much consternation amongst the group.
Cue victory music, happy Ewok dancing, and the next part of the quest.
As it turns out, Little Miss Sob-Story Kissandra lost not only her Dad, but also Big Sister to the depredations of mean old Baron Drelev. Able to describe the Baron, his castle, provide directions, and even sketch out a quick map of the town of Drelev, Kissandra proved exceedingly helpful to Kamelot's rulers.
Accepting her quest to depose Baron Drelev, rescue her Daddy, and reclaim her sister, the group returned back to Kamelot for some reconnaissance and preparation. Talk of a month-long spy mission/infiltration of Drelev faltered, as well as various "up the middle" attack plans. Artemis came up with the optimal solution, pairing up Enrol's "Assassination Run" and Ganon's "Teleport Assault" plans.
Flying in a basket carried by Enterprise the Awakened Roc, while a Permanent Illusion of happy clouds covered her, the party bailed out at high speed and fairly high altitude. Approaching the city at night, and with immense speed, the guards (and citizens) didn't stand a chance of spotting the incoming force. Enrol hit the party with Featherfall at the last second, allowing an Invisibility Sphere HALO insertion onto Fort Drelev's parapet. Summoning a Dire Bat to provide a distraction, the party moved into the library on the second floor.
Inside, they found a {poorly hidden} Dust Mephit, who Hestia promptly smashed back into regular dust. Still (mostly) invisible, after some quick searching, Enrol's Locate Creature spell pinged Baron Drelev quite nearby.
The fight at the banquet hall proved short, bloody, and overwhelmingly in the party's favor. Baron Drelev managed a single good swing on Rilani, while his mooks couldn't hit the broad side of a Queen.
C'est la vie, I guess.
The Baron and Mammy both caught Dimension Anchor spells from Enrol, (one a True Strike fueled opening salvo) and both died messily. Hestia sent the Baron on his way with many, many hammer shots, while Brunner managed to finish off Mammy with a Nat-20 Searing Light. Da Bard also ate hammer swings, while Rilani showcased her talent for swordplay by dropping 4 mooks in one round. (Ganon & Enrol tossed some AoE spells around, weakening everyone.)
From there, the rest of the tower fell almost without a fight.
The Baron's Wizard, cognizant that he couldn't win against these folks, and smart enough to cut a deal, hit Enrol with a Sending, advising him of his desire to work for Kamelot and lack of interest in a fight. The party concurred, and suggested he take up Enrol's old position at the Academy.
The Baron's mistress died from the "Mozambique Galagar" combo attack. Artemis performed her usual "double-tap, head-shot," followed by Hestia's patented "Galagar Smash," completely ruining the bedspread and headboard.
Noun- The gangster was executed in a classic Mozambique.
Verb- The Mafia assassin was ordered to Mozambique the gangster before he could testify.
Following that, in the Baroness's bedchambers, Artemis heard scrabbling noises and whispered warnings from the closet. Leveling her scattergun, she waited until Hestia threw open the door and sprayed the interior blindly. Unwittingly, she blasted both the Baroness (non fatally), and Jewel, the Annoying Dog (mortally). The Baroness charged, screaming, with a naked blade in her fist, but proved unable to land a blow on the shotgun wielding druid. Calmly stepping back, she unleashed another three rounds of buckshot into the woman's chest, reducing the Baroness to a ruin of flesh and nightdress.
Brunner stepped up, healing the dying puppy of his wounds, before Enrol dropped a Baleful Polymorph onto the dog. His choice of animal: kitten. So yes, the Baroness's annoying little chihuahua transformed into a dead puppy, then a live kitty, in the space of about 12 seconds. Fortunately for Jewel, he failed his Will save, and took on the role of a happy, fish-hungry cat easily enough.
From there, the party decided to forgo any further stealth, and shone an illusory "Meet us at the parapet" sign to the remaining outdoor guards. Ganon met them, convinced the mercenaries of the recent change in management, offering them additional wages and a sign-on bonus. To a man, they agreed, but warned that the hill giants in the courtyard would likely still fight.
Hearing that, Hestia decided to go and engage the six (6!) angry, Advanced Hill Giants in melee. No one was able to buff her or assist with AoE spells due to her haste, but began raining down the Fireballs, Scorching Rays, and the like soon after. Hestia managed to whack one giant for a significant chunk of damage before the combined baddies delivered a sound drubbing to the barbarian. Dropping like a stone, her fall galvanized the rest of the party.
More artillery strikes rained down, and Hero Points flew (mostly to allow for extra actions). The single standout move in the fight:
Giant can see the flying Wizard Enrol, tossing off Fireballs and other ranged attacks with impunity. Too high to smash with a club, and out of throwing rocks, a flash of inspiration strikes. Grabbing the unconscious Hestia, he chucks her armor-clad body at the Wizard. Hitting readily and dealing maximum damage, he frowns as the body gently floated to the ground, rather than slamming itself down (thanks to Enrol's Arcane Bond Spell Feather Fall).
We wrapped there, with the PC's in charge of Fort Drelev, the citizenry none-the-wiser for the change in leadership, and some 10,000 gp richer each.
We'll resume Blood for Blood in two weeks time, with the Rescue of the Big Sister and Fight Against the Tiger-Lord Barbarians.
Sir Hamster,
I have an "idea" for
Sir Hamster,
Let us (if not your players) hope that the Black Sisters facilitate their escape forthwith ...
^_^
Excerpt from the future Autobiography of Enrol-Dur (Assuming no stupid time paradoxes)
...the grandest festival in all the River Kingdoms! Deposing the vile ruler of Fort Drelev brought out throngs of peasants vying to meet their saviors. By the next morning we had lavished the fort with new resources, brought our best military contingent for protection, and left to spread monarch based democracy to the brutish men of the north.
Tactfully negotiating our way past the barbarian horde was no problem for our future emperor, more commonly known for his diplomatic work under the tyrant Queen Rilani. With the liberated feral men guarding our backs, we ventured into a mysterious tomb. However, the wonders buried here were far more tantalizing than what previous accounts have only guessed at.
The first of our may trials began with two priestesses bound to guard this chambers secrets. While some of my companions would have thrown themselves at them in a bloody frenzy, I approached as a voice of reason. Two beautiful sisters stood before me and immidiatley I could tell they were entranced by my natural aura of virility. As payment for passage, they demanded that I "satisfy" their longing. Since great rewards require great sacrifice I stepped forth to indulge them...many, many times.
Unphased and unscathed we pressed onward to greater glory...
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@Enrol-Dur: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Greatly Virile Emperor, eh? Nice!
For those interested in the non-retcon'd history:
Our band of murderous monarchs resumed their conquest in the halls of Castle Drelev. Having {practically) silently slain the defenders, monsters, and rulers of said castle, they felt quite comfortable beginning a period of rebirth and renewal.
Poor, impoverished Fort Drelev (soon to be called Westville) bore witness to a fantastic parade of wealth and grandeur in the morning. Setting out with (illusory) honor guards, mounted on well-fed exotic bird mounts (mount spells, re-skinned to look like the Axebeak/Chocobo/Warchicken common to Kamelot's fields), and throwing bread to the crowd, the people of Fort Drelev practically threw themselves on their new rulers.
They progressed through the town, attracting a small horde of children, mendicants, indigents, and mercenaries, all anxious to catch a glimpse of "royalty." The small coins and food the party disbursed didn't hurt things either. Once at the incomplete wall and tower section, southwest of the castle proper, Ganon used his new Rod of Splendor in conjunction with the party's Lyre of Building to set up a grand pavilion, small stage, and complete work on the unfinished defenses.
All that occurred in the span of hours, opposed to Baron Drelev's usual "never." Distributing food, supplies, medical attention, and guidance to the gathering crowd, Ganon, Brunner, Artemis, and Queen Rilani all made fantastic positive impressions on the commoners. Brunner quickly "diplomacy'd" Satinder Morine, availing himself of the luxuries available at the bathhouse, as did Headswoman Hestia.
In the end, after a midnight commando raid, some rather violent negotiations with Baron Drelev, and a day of joyous celebration, Kamelot's Rulers have established a new point of control. They even managed to repurpose the incomplete Temple of Erastil to worship of Abadar. For now, that simply meant a new holy symbol (courtesy of Enrol and his fantastic stone shape skills), a handful of coins tossed into the huge empty room, and a couple of mooks standing guard at the entrance.
Unfortunately, since they flew/teleported to get there, Fort Drelev stands alone, unclaimed, and unsupported for now.
Gathering all kinds of new wanted posters, as well as retrieving Captain Terrion's daughter (and Rilani's Boko) from Tatzlford via teleport, the group readied to set out for Aarmag's Tomb, and the missing noble girls. Before they headed out, however, Artemis ensured her cohort Melissa, head of the Abadaran Inquisition and executive officer of the Mell'esai would return to Fort Drelev with her Roc transport vehicle and acquire as many widows, orphans, and the like as possible.
Artemis also made darn sure to ally herself with Satinder, with an "exchange" of talented girls arranged; the less savvy ones would receive courtesan training and remain in the service of the Calistrian Priestess. Those of a more discerning talent, or with certain moral proclivities, would travel to Haven and receive Mell'esai Inquisitor training.
Along the way to Aarmag's Tomb, a certain cranky Smilodon (Double Advanced & Old Dire Tiger Speartooth) tried his hardest to nom on some tasty tasty arcane casters. Despite chewing on the pair of casters and laying some scary hurt down, Speartooth quickly fell to lance, hammer, and gun. Happily, the crew butchered, skinned, de-fanged, and prepped the enormous beast for their trophy room. In fact, Ganon 'ported himself, Artemis, and their "catch" back to the capitol of Kamelot, selling some loot and delivering a fresh tiger carcass to the royal taxidermist. He then 'ported back in the morning.
The rest of the trip north proved uneventful, as the party elected to not bother with Small Aurumvorex warrens. Spotting the barbarian camp easily enough, the party spell-buffed up and set off to say "hello." In this case, that literally meant "Hail" played via Ganon's signal horn. Receiving a similar hail in return, the party waltzed right into the trap.
Xenophobic, driven nearly mad by the Black Sisters, and under direct supervision by not one, but two extraplanar babysitters, the Tiger-Lord Barbarians did what all barbarians should. They greeted the intruders with hurled axes and foaming mouths. Supported by a bound Lilend, and led by a Planar Ally Rakshasa, they fought hard and died hard. No match for the melee brutes, and too dumb (or angry) to not clump up, the axe wielding maniacs did what they needed to; they bought the necessary minute-and-a-half for the Black Sisters to begin their spell preparation.
Fireballs, clouds, shotgun, hammer and lance won the day, with noone seriously injured and the extraplanar threats neutralized via Charm. Spending more time talking to the Lilend and Rakshasha, the party gained intelligence about Aarmag (scary one-eyed barbarian lord), the Tomb (scary, deadly dungeon area), and the Black Sisters (ultra scary, crazy, pick wielding spellcasters). Enrol-lur showed a penchant for recycling, and raised a bunch of fallen barbarians as fast zombies.
Proceeding into the tomb itself, they were ambushed by those crazy, pick-wielding Sisters, and nearly got their butts handed to them. Upgunned to pose a serious threat to even such powerful characters as the party, the Black Sisters nearly put an end to the party's tale. Immediately isolating Brunner the Life Oracle via wall spells and blade barrier, the Sisters began a 10-15 round battle of coup de graces, spell immunity, and battlefield control spells. At one time, no less than 8 template spells filled the 40'x40' room.
In the fight, Brunner died not once, not twice, but three times, finally succumbing to "death" at his own hands (trying to flee through a blade barrier) after exhausting his Hero Points. Hestia also "died" from a 50-60 damage CdG, only to survive thanks again to Hero Points. The rest of the party worked doubletime, trying to gain position, not get sliced by the blender walls, and deliver enough of a beat down to off these mad Sisters.
They finally managed to do so, only to witness their remains disappear into a pile of sand and dust. Seconds later, said remains began swirling and whirling, filling up the formerly empty leaf armor and clothes of the slain sisters. Using gust of wind, Ganon managed to deposit the (not yet)undead clerics in their own pit spells, whereupon Artemis and Enrol sealed them in via stone shape and major creation spells.
Given a respite, and believing the battle won, Hestia and Artemis began to extract themselves from the deadly room. Unbeknownst to the ladies, however, the Mummy Sisters returned to the "living" whilst encased in their respective pits. Soon enough, they climbed to the lip and began pounding on the lid, attempting to slam their way through the obstacles. Ganon, Enrol, and Rilani had remained back, either to finish the fight, attempt to recover Brunner's body (easily achieved with some teleportaion magic and readied actions). Seeing the leaf-and-cloth wrapped arm of Sister 1 slam its way through solid stone cemented their resolve to finish this fight, however.
Having lost the benefit of the majority of their defensive magic, these newly fire-vulnerable, non-SR, not immune to fireball, non-fire-resistant Undead Sisters soaked a LOT of Arcane Artillery Fire Support in a very short time. Enrol proved his worth yet again with an empowered scorching ray spell which yielded over 100 damage, dusting one Sister where she stood. Her counterpart fell shortly thereafter, after eating more scorching rays, Rilani's sword attacks, and a fireball or two.
All told, probably the toughest fight yet in the AP.
The butcher's bill:
Brunner died, thrice.
Hestia died once.
Enrol lost all his zombies (mostly due to blade barrier)
Rilani lost "The Sword of Varn" (+3 Defending Longsword) due to a Critical Fumble Card (darn Nat-1/Nat-1's and no Hero Points)
We wrapped there, with the party camped in the former Tiger-Lord camp. The Lilend, still charmed by Ganon, watches over the hostage girls, while the Rakshasha fled the scene as soon as he could.
Everyone leveled to 11th level, and should be ready to resume the descent into Aarmag's Tomb in a few weeks (real) time.
Awesome. I'm glad to see the revised Black Sisters are so well received. >:)
** spoiler omitted **[evil Hutt laugh]ho, ho, ho, ho, ho....[/evil Hutt laugh]
Very much awesome. Now, I have to figure out to give him 4 arms and robot parts.
Amalgam template :P
Sir Hamster,
Sir Hamster,
** spoiler omitted **
no not yet...
I am torn between "Badass Conan" and "Easy Victory with Consequences" mode. On the one hand, it'd be another wicked fight, on the other, I get to laugh behind my hands for hours on end.
Both, coach. :)
Sir Hamster,
** spoiler omitted **
no not yet...
I am torn between "Badass Conan" and "Easy Victory with Consequences" mode. On the one hand, it'd be another wicked fight, on the other, I get to laugh behind my hands for hours on end.
I took a closer look at this charming gent today - I won't have to do too much to him to bring him up to snuff against my own group. Take a really close look at that sword he's packing ...
Thus, my answer remains: both, coach. ^_^
Sadly, between my fluctuating work schedule and the end of the semester (for our college-bound members), our game has come to a hiatus.
Hopefully, we should be able to resume in a few weeks, but no definite time in place for now.
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Curses the gawds while shaking his fist at the heavens.
Hopefully my group will have caught up by then ...
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Arise, Mighty Bandit King, ARISE!
We reconvene this Sunday, June 5th, for the conclusion of Blood for Blood.
Our heroes, after narrowly defeating the dastardly, deadly, and dessicated Black Sisters, now stand poised at the brink of Armag's Tomb.
The roster remains:
Ganon Malfoy, Infernal Sorcerer and Grand Diplomat
Artemis Gayle, Growth Druid, Mistress of the Melisae, and State Warden
Hestia, Elemental Barbarian and Royal Headswoman
Brunner the Oracle, Party Healer, and now City Counsellor/Mayor
Rilani Astin Marten ,Order of the Cockatrice Cavalier and Duchess of Kamelot (soon to be Queen)
Enrol the Transmuter, Scroll-Keeper and Royal Magister
Will the re-enter the tomb?
Will they reincarnate Brunner, who fell to the Sisters' vicious picks?
Will they simply seal the cavern from the outside and walk away?
Stay tuned here, for the exciting conclusion of Kingmaker: Blood for Blood!
.
I'm not dead yet!
I'm not dead yet!
You're working on it already, I can tell...
Remember this classic quote for your band of murderous monarchs:
Q: Armag! What is best in life?
A: To crush your enemies, see zem driven before you and to hear the lamentations of dher vimmen!
^_^
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That's how the night progressed, mostly, sadly, for our intrepid murderers from Kamelot.
Starting off their adventuring day with a dead Oracle and friendly, charmed Lilend, they promptly fixed the first problem via reincarnate, courtesy of Artemis.
Brunner the Oracle once again breathed, this time as a Dwarf.
Ganon then took the 5 "princesses" back to Fort Drelev via teleport and 2 bags of holding. Back in town, he grabbed some components for another reincarnate and slept safely in a bed. Meanwhile, the rest of the party stayed at the Tiger Lords' camp right outside the Tomb. In the morning, Ganon bamf'd right back, just in time for a Lilend prepared breakfast.
Restocked, ready for mayhem, and raring for a fight, the party once more ventured into Armag's tomb. Planning ahead, Ganon slapped Resist Energy, Mass on everyone. For every energy. Imagine his surprise when Enrol (via permanent arcane sight informed the party guards and wards protected the entire chamber. Many frowns and looks of consternation appeared thereafter.
Sucking it up, the party decided to press on and simply dispel and knock the various locked portals and foggy corridors. For some reason, they also elected to not search anything while they traveled, thus bypassing several secret doors which Artemis (with her +30 to perception) could not fail to spot.
Heading east from the "Black Sisters' Room" (and very happy those two stayed quite dead, they continued on the eastern path. For some, unknown reason they also stood in both the first and second room of the dungeon and argued for 10-20 minutes just what they were going to do. Fog, webs, locked doors, and confusing intersections seemed to stymie their usual "make friends then kill everyone" plans.
The tilting floor room proved no real challenge, between Artemis' Large bat form and various other means of flight. Once on the other side, and aware of some kind of magical aura down below, Brunner slipped his dwarfy body beneath the risen floor and flew down on his carpet to check them out. He returned with a magic handaxe and some scrolls.
Pressing on, they next torched the webs in the stairs, remaining back while they burned out, before unloading some more dispel magic's to 86 the fog in the hallway. Another knock spell later, and they saw a Large iron statue of Gorum, standing by himself in a large circular room. Once it activated, Enrol immediately identified the critter as an Iron Golem, and whipped out his 5d6 Wand of Lightning Bolt. Taking full advantage of everyone's resistance to electricity, he lit the robot guardian up and slowed him for 3 rounds.
Meanwhile, everyone else piled into the room, casting buffs, whacking the beast with sword (non-adamantine, via Rilani) and axe (most definitely adamantine, via Hestia.) A short slugfest ensued, with the poor, slowed Golem able to heal itself via divine mandate only once, before Hestia the Terrible severed his left leg at the thigh. Too much to handle, the monster fell with a tremendous crash, splitting into hundreds of iron shards and spikes.
Pressing on quickly, so as to take advantage of several minutes-long buffs, the group next encountered the Advanced Bloody Skeletal Champions. Able to gain initiative, for once, I unleashed a mighty volley of arrows, several of which sailed true. Everyone (save Brunner) took some minor arrow wounds, except Rilani. She caught a Nat-20/Nat-20 arrow to the head, dealing some 45-50 damage in one blow.
A few fireball[i]s and [i]hellfire[i]s later, and the group of skeletons fighting Rilani fell, reduced to small piles of ash. Hestia laid about, smashing about 1 foe every other round, and taking some minor wounds in return. Ganon, meanwhile, managed to [i]command undead exactly one of the undead, yielding a friendly Skeletal Champion, capable of giving directions to his "master's" rooms.
Just beyond that room, Mr. Feathers himself, Divine Guardian Zorek stood awaiting the party. Hemming and hawing almost lost the group the chance for "diplomacy," but Hestia, axe-swinging, blood-drenched, Gorum-worshipping madwoman that she is, took point. Zorek, all buffed to the nines, stood by the stairway, leveled his spear, and said, "Prove your might!"
That was all she needed to hear, and Hestia was off and running. Charging, to be more exact. Laying a serious whallop on the feather-wearing-fool, his first action in return put an anti-life-shell between this duel and the party, while a Hero Point fueled blade barrier hit each and every single PC, including new-skeleton-friend-Bob. Content to stay in his little bubble and trade blows, that impression changed quickly after Enrol dropped an enervation right through the shell, followed by one from Ganon as well.
The 160 or so damage Hestia tossed his way the next round also put a cramp in his style, only the divinely granted heal spell kept him on his feet. Try as he might, he could not drop the barbarian, mostly due to shield other and Brunner's rather effective healing magics, so Zorek redirected his attacks.
Moving proved to be his undoing, however, as Brunner managed to land a telekinesis and Nat-20'd his CMB to grapple. That set him up perfectly for Artemis's follow-up mozambique. She left his arms, legs, and lower torso intact, while his head and chest decorated the wall and floor in a spray of red. Quickly looting his corpse, our heroes pressed on to the north, much happier now that guards and wards faded with the death of Zorek.
In the next room, Armag himself waited for the chance to kill again. Standing behind a line of his skeletal champions, and wielding Ovinrbaane very sadly, we went almost last in initiative.
Once again, the undead fell to some combined melee, ranged, and AoE attacks, leaving poor Mr. Angry to deal with Ms. Rage by himself. That wouldn't have been an issue, except that he advanced past his archers, intent on landing a huge swipe onto Brunner.
Of course, I rolled a Nat-1.
From there, he put up a good fight, dealing some nasty sword blows to Hestia and receiving hammer swings in return. Enrol and Ganon both tried their best, but couldn't get anything to land, thanks to the sword. Finally, Artemis blasted him but good at point blank range, opening up his guard (and leaving him at exactly 0 hp) for Hestia to deliver the final blow. She did just that, with a spectacular 49 damage single hit, followed up with 3 more just like it, all on his corpse. Down went Armag.
A brief discussion ensued, where Enrol picked up Ovinrbaane via tongs and attempted to stash it "someplace safe." Having none of that, Hestia grabbed the sword herself (and succeeded on her Will save, just) and slung it across her back. From there, they looted the original Armag's tomb, and finally remembered they can search for hidden things in dungeons.
Rapidly finding the hidden treasure room, and stunned at the sheer amount of coinage they just found, the party began discussing just how they'd get all that loot out of there.
Enrol, meanwhile, dug out an old blanket, and began tossing coins atop it. By the time anyone else had an idea of how to transport some 1000-1500 lbs of coins, the transmuter pulled out his scroll of treasure rug or whatever its called, and reduced all the coin (and anything else on the blanket) to embroidered patterns on the material.
From there, the team went into mop-up mode. The searched the rest of the place, yielding some 4-5k worth of ancient Kellid artifacts, and encountered a Derghodaemon. That fight went extremely quickly, as the predatory outsider summoned another of its ilk, and they began filling their chamber with swarms. Fireball wands took out the swarm, while Enrol nailed the non-summoned Daemon with a rod-persistent dismissal which landed successfully. Artemis and Hestia managed to drop the other one, finally clearing the dungeon of all its foes.
Back outside, the group teleported back to Kamelot, and began to sell off loot. Everyone scored some 24,000 in GPs, as well as securing some new bounties once in town. Some alchemist offered coin for giant slug acid, an up-and-coming taxidermist wanted an intact Fresh Water Elasmosaurus, and a traveling cleric of Desna was looking for some giant dragonfly wings with which to craft magic items.
Armed with this knowledge, plenty of bullets, arrows, and whatnot, the party hopped over to Tatzlford and began exploring hexes, once again. Heading generally west by southwest, they made it as far as the southern edge of Lake Hooktongue, securing 5 of the 6 dragonfly wings they needed, and chasing a Spirit Naga out of her swampy home with Acid-fireballs.
We broke there, and are set to resume Blood for Blood / War of the River Kings come next Sunday, June 12, 2011.
Stay tuned!
Awesome! Too bad Armag went down like a chump. Cursed nat-1's!
I look forward to hearing about your next session, Sir Hamster. :)
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Once more into the Kamelands and Hooktongue Slough, and once more our "heroes" came out richer, better looking, and smelling nice.
We began our adventure in the swamps, near the Swamp Scar. After having driven off the Spirit Naga which recently resided within, Artemis scried upon the creature, showing Enrol and Ganon just where to teleport. Geared up and loaded for bear...er....snake, our intrepid rulers <bamf'd> into a muddy, swampy wooden hut, and the fight was on.
Ngara the Spirit Naga had fled (via dimension door, invisibility, and charm to her slave Sepoko's side. He had used his powers of healing to restore the damage Ganon dealt the snake, and the two hunkered in his throne room. A pair of boggard wardens stood guard against intruders from the tunnels, along with their amphibian complements.
Starting things off with a bang, Hestia slogged through the muck in an attempt to close with Chief Sepoko, taking a more defensive action than normal. Enrol followed that up with a cone of cold, catching both the boggard chief and Ngara in its path. The snake retaliated in kind, barely breaking the Resist Cold 30 each hero wore (courtesy of Ganon), and showing her position.
Sepoko tried to end Enrol with a slay living, but the wizard shrugged it off. He also managed to live despite a boggard warden's best efforts with trident and axe. Neither Sepoko nor Ngara received a chance to rectify their failures, as Ganon dimensional anchored the Naga while Artemis and Hestia filled Chief Sepoko with metal. Enrol capped off the fight with a timely flesh to stone, which Ngara helpfully failed .
All told, the battle was over in 12 seconds, with the Chief (and an unknown giant snake monster) dead at the hands of pinkskins, and the Wardens unsure what to do. Ganon solved that problem with his silver tongue, sounding off in fluent Boggard (he had learned it long ago, after meeting the crippled frog-man in the Narlmarches) as to his new position as Chief. Unwilling to fight such dangerous foes, and ready to accept the "rule of the strongest", the boggard tribe capitulated and surrendered their treasure. The wardens retained their weapons and armor, and the rest of the tribe kept their normal supplies, but their small stockpile of coins and items went off to Kamelot. They also had a handful of Giant Dragonfly Wings, enough to complete the Entomologist Crafter's quest.
After a tour of his new swamp home, Ganon learned about the sacrifices made to Gogunta at the Swamp Scar, and decided Kak-Kehkt was unfit to be such a sacrifice. He released the bog strider after a brief telepathic conversation (and being promised "shiny treasures" upon his safe retun to Nok-Tikrat) and the party set out to explore the M'Botuu's swamp/lake hex.
Along the northern bank, Artemis spotted a group of moose like animals, which she empathy'd, then carried back south in her bird form. After dropping the prey animals off at the M'Botuu's, she flew east and grabbed up Boko, Queen Rilani's mount. Meanwhile, the rest of the party rode south across the lake (via Enrol's phantom steed spells, or as I call them "Swamp Horseycles") with plenty of meat to share.
After some discussion about the Demon Frog Gogunta, and just what the Boggards expected from the sacrifice, Ganon felt confident these frog-people would accept his ruse. At the swamp scar, the party pushed on into the night, arriving just in time for the sacrificial offering. Hobbling the moose and pitching camp, they waited through the night for some giant monster or other horrible event. What happened was even stranger.
Four weird plants (Calathgar, according to Artemis) emerged from the swamp and tried to feed on the moose. Artemis managed to command plants two of the critters, while Enrol dusted one with a full-force disintegrate and the fourth died to shotgun blasts. Realizing the potential for cold-producing intelligent vine plants, Artemis added them to her little menagerie (which now included two bright yellow poisonous frogs, care of the M'Botuu camp.)
From there, and after Ganon 'ported back and forth to Kamelot, the party began exploring westward. Everyone now rode swamp-walking mounts, since Ganon's goal for his jaunt was the retrieval of Boko's new Horshoes of the Speedy Zephyr. Queen Rilani now rides astride a Speed 80 Water-Walking Terror Bird (chocobo), and is the slowest of the group. Encountering more swamp before grassland, not much proved of interest until the Ettin war party.
Easily spotted by the telepathically bonded Artemis flying overwatch, our heroes buffed a bit and moved to intercept two Ettins and their Orc retainers. In the brief fight to follow, Hestia proved her bravery (stupidity?) again, charging one Ettin and engaging the whole band on her own. She took it like a a champ, too, receiving some 60-70 damage courtesy of raging Orcs' falchions and Large flails. In return, she dealt well over 150 to one Ettin.
Enrol and Ganon handled the small fries, courtesy of Empowered Fireballs, some of which were even selective. Unfortunately, Ganon's resist energy suite only lasts for dungeon-time, not enough for full-day coverage. Needless to say, the party handled itself extremely well, neutralizing this dangerous war party with very little trouble.
From there, they continued exploring, circling Fort Drelev (soon to be called Westville) clockwise, starting from the 7'o'clock position. Prime grassland extended as far as the eye could see, but no settlements, thorpes, or farms. Our heroes did finally manage to locate Speartooth's lair, and its collection of Fort Drelev uniforms and equipment. Reclaiming their "purloined" property, the party pressed on. They turned up some additional Calathgar, which Artemis promplty controlled.
Our heroes got as far as Windchaser's hex before needing to return to civilization and handle business. The first task for the Duchy became the expansion towards Fort Drelev. Starting at Tatzlford, they struck northwest, laying out the "Unicorn Road" to the edge of the swamp. After the second month of construction, the road faltered in the swamp a bit, but Fort Drelev became the latest city of Kamelot. They renamed it Westville, the 5th city zone of the now Kingdom. Queen Rilani got herself with child once again (Prince Henry is expected in Abadius of next year), while much crafting and plotting ensued.
Ganon, acting as the Royal Diplomat he is, <bamf'd> over to the swamp, and made friends with the Bog Striders of Nok-Tikrat. . The prince's promises of "Shinies" proved to be a bit of an overestimation, but a peaceful accord was nonetheless struck. The Bog Striders would provide guidance and information about the swamp, and in return Kamelot would ensure the peace of the land. They exchanged gifts to commemorate the occasion; Ganon provided the Chief with a potion of comprehend languages, and in return the Chief told him of the surrounding hexes. Horribly monsters ruled the swamps to north and south, while the southeast was taboo and haunted and northwest held some of the rare Azure Poison Swamp Lily.
From Nok-Tikrat, Ganon brought his companions west, appearing in the hex with Windchaser and his herd. Again, Artemis spotted the herd long before anyone else. Flying around as a Huge bird of prey tends to spook herd prey animals, and these horses proved no exception. Using her shadow and screams to drive them towards the party, she then dove to rejoin her teammates. Taking the form of a powerful mare, Artemis approached the herd, not knowing of its unusual origins.
Windchaser approached the horse-form-druid, warily examining this strange, singular horse. She rode at the head of a small herd, including an armor-plated two-legged bird and his fully-armored human rider, 4 ghostly, floating, horse-like creatures upon which rode more humans (and a dwarf). That elicited much suspicion from the Awakened stallion, but her approach in mare form and general powerful form tempered his distrust.
Rearing and pawing drew no reaction from Artemis, who was then invited to run with the herd. Doing so, and easily outpacing any of the horses, she proved Windchaser's suspicions. Guessing her nature, he spoke to Artemis, calling her druidess and horse-friend. She ran with the stallion for a while, listening to him tell the story of his awakening and his former druid master. He even told her about the humans of Fort Drelev, warning Artemis to stay away from the dangerous human city. The horse also informed her of the terrible Speartooth Cat to the northeast, and some humans in distress to the south.
Thanking Windchaser for his time and information, Ganon asked if they needed anything. Asking for nothing but freedom, Windchaser promised not to bother the humans of the land so long as they were left alone. Artemis took this time to shift back to human form, and greeted each and every horse in the herd, allowing them to know her scent.
Intent on saving these poor refugees, the party next set out southeast. They quickly found the wretches, in the process of arguing whether to head north or return from whence they came. The peasants all fell to their knees and begged for deliverance once they realized the Queen of Kamelot herself rode to their rescue. Ganon and Enrol 'ported all 18 of them back to Westville, courtesy of a orange prism stone and several scrolls of teleport. The peasants all told of a dangerous multiheaded monster in the swamp to the east. That beast, a hydra, had eaten their leaders, including their survivalist and healer.
With the people secure, the party decided to head east and slay the hydra. The critter got one good round of attacks in, nibbling on Rilani, Boko, and Hestia a very little bit. It then received lightning bolts, shotgun blasts, and lance strikes, falling to Hestia's massively damaging hammer swings. After securing the swamp area, the party 'ported back home, intent on some R&R and crafting time.
Enrol and Artemis launched their cunning plans, using the cold-producing Calathgar vines to make the ice necessary for an Ice Golem, upon which the Small plants will reside. Artemis calls him the Gardener, and he remains at Haven, watching over the "Winterflower Gardens" therein. They also took a brief jaunt to the Elemental Plane of Earth, armed with a Rod of Mineral Detection. Once there, the pair lucked out. Rather than encountering Xorn, Elder Earth Elementals, or some other dangerous denizen of the deep, Shaitan genies greeted them.
A mining camp of Shaitan just happened to be close by their Plane Shift landing point. Speaking Terran, bearing lots of gold and magic, and guided by a Druid in Elemental Form, Enrol struck a bargain with the Shaitan. In search of Adamantine, the Transmuter wished to trade whatever it took. Luckily for him, this group had just found some of the rare material, and would trade mass-for-mass another precious metal. Silver, Gold, Platinum, Uranium, Plutonium, Mithral, and Aluminum were all mentioned. Pulling out his "carpet of coins," Enrol wow'd them a little. They left the Plane shortly thereafter, in possession of 70 lbs of Adamantine. Combined with the Adamantine Full Plate they managed to buy in town, the Transmuter now had enough material to begin construction of his masterpiece, the Adamantine Golem.
Working in concert with the King and Royal Treasurer (Bard and Wizard, respectively) and using all the tricks at his disposal, the construction will still take 8.6 months, and require at least a Natural 15 on the die to succeed. I'll take those odds.
Meanwhile, Rilani managed to turn up a very high level (CL 18) scroll of Make Whole. She commissioned Brunner to repair The Sword of Varn, as well as further enchant it, her lance, shield and armor. Now packing +4 Lance, Sword, and +4 Shield and Armor, the Queen is a mighty warrior indeed. Everyone else spent gold in whatever fashion pleased them, including Brunner going "under the knife" for some reincarnate therapy.
Unwilling to use her profane "Human Reincarnate" ritual, Artemis rolled the dice after slitting her healer's throat. Lucky for him, he came back as a Kellid Human. Perhaps unluckily, he also came back as a female.
Looking over their maps, the group realized a prime piece of farmland remained out of their grasp. Southwest of the Restov Road running betwen Oleg's and Niktai's Crossing, the most northeastern hex stood unclaimed as "no man's land." Intent on acquiring that farmland, Ganon, Rilani, Hestia, and Brunner set off for Restov, with Princess (and Heir) Elizabeth in tow. While there, the Queen and Diplomat divided and conquered the courtiers of Restov. The poor saps didn't know what hit them.
Making back-alley and under-the-table agreements, Ganon managed to secure support for his position, as well as a sit-down with the Mayor and Diplomat of Restov within three days of being in town. Rilani, meanwhile, charmed everyone at court with her wit, prowess, and adorable two-year-old Princess. She announced her new pregnancy, as well as reaffirming her position as Queen of Kamelot, the newest River Kingdom.
At the meet-and-greet, Mayor, Queen, and the pair of Diplomats hashed out a deal between their cities. Relying on the adage that "what they don't know..." the Mayor offered the hex in question in exchange for twice its value, payable either in Build Points directly to Restov or gold to himself. Electing for the former, Ganon arranged delivery of some dozen midwives (all trained at Artemis's "Mel'Issae Academy"), as well as craftsmen, wood, fish, gold, silver, and iron. He did not deliver any advanced weaponry (firearms, explosives, or magic), nor any major spellcasters (a few adepts only.)
Once all the politics were settled and everyone had returned from their various excursions, plans were laid to fully explore the rest of their kingdom (several hexes southwest of the Tors of Levines, most of the Slough, and points north). Gathering in Haven, Artemis piled everyone into her Roc's gondola, and set out for the grasslands surrounding Wyvernstone Bridge. Along the way, Artemis spotted something very strange. Among a copse of tall oaks, four trees stood out as odd. An ancient Willow, Mahogany, Coconut Palm, and Cypress seemed to grow alongside the oaks.
Landing the gondola, Artemis believed the creatures to be Treants, ancient spirits of nature and guardians of the forest.
What will our heroes do next?
Will they slay the animated forces of nature, with steel and flame?
Will they befriend the tree-people?
Only time will tell.
Until next Sunday!
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Cast:
Ganon Malfoy, Level 11 Human Infernal Sorcerer. Royal Diplomat and friend to all.
Hestia the Dwarf, Level 11 Human (reincarnated) Barbarian. Royal Headsman, Wielder of Ovrinbaane and Hammer-Dealt-Chaos.
Enrol the Transmuter, Level 11 Human Transmuter, Royal Magister, and soon-to-be Commander of the Corps Arcane
Artemis Gayle, Level 11 Human Druid, Mistress of the Mel'isae, and Warden of the Kingdom.
Brunner the Oracle, Level 11 Human (reincarnated) Oracle of Life, Mayor of Kamelot, and Councillor of the People
Her Majesty, Queen Rilani Astin Martin, Ruler of Kamelot, Cavalier of the Order of the Cockatrice, Human, Level 11.
Bit players:
Da King (Bard "cohort" of Rilani)
Da Treasurer (Wizard "cohort" of Ganon)
Horatio, da Spymaster (Rogue "cohort" of Brunner)
Melissa, High Priest?
General ---> ???
Marshal ---> ???
May the tropical trees be spell-endowed and carnivorous! ^_^