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I ran my first session of second edition this past weekend, and in this thread I will chronicle my experiences in case it is of help to fellow GMs. We play every two weeks so my updates here will be reflected accordingly.
The party:
Oan Wescran (an alias): male human fighter, a minor son of a minor noble family of Cheliax, in hiding from his family and the Chelaxian navy after being involved in the recent events in Kintargo, currently in hiding as a Breachill town guard.
Chiana Zataal: female elven rogue, former agent of the Aspis Consortium, on the run from Bloodcove after a failed sabotage mission involving her loveless marriage to an influential member of the East Mwangi Mining Company. Sold to the Consortium by her parents at a young age to pay off a debt, all she has of them is a medallion of her father’s: a medallion bearing the sunburst of the Order of the Nail.
Tendulkar: male halfling bard, escaped slave from a farm in Isger, dedicated to freeing his kin from shackles.
Jack Daw: male human druid of the Green Faith from the River Kingdoms, bastard son of the Stag Lord, raised by a giant talking Raven that may have been a permanently wildshaped druid, currently following up on rumors of a sibling he’s never met being in Breachill. Having grown up in the wild raised by a bird, he does not relate well to people but has a crow companion for company.
There are many house rules in my game, two of which are important to the first session:
1. I use Plot Twist cards from first edition as Hero Points. Players get one card per Hero Point. These are more for the narrative elements on the card as the mechanical elements are not exactly suited for second edition. Cards can be awarded to players for exceptional roleplaying or otherwise creating an awesome moment. Each player starts a session with one card and gets another if they show up on time and ready to play. I also can award one to players who keep me honest by reminding me of rules or other things I may have forgotten. These cards can also be used as per normal Hero Points. Cards not used in a session are returned to the deck and new ones are drawn the next session. I reserve the right to modify or deny the player's attempted use of a card in case it is overpowered or just doesn't make sense in the situation.
2. For critical hits the attacker only rolls damage once, then they add the maximum damage that a normal attack does. Example: an 18 Strength longsword critical hit would do 12+1d8+4 damage. This means critical hits always deal between 101%-200% of the damage that a normal hit does.
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Things kicked off per the adventure as written, with the exception being that Oan was on duty in the Town Hall and not an aspiring adventurer. The party had a difficult time extinguishing the fire, and spent most of their time fighting the mephit and helping people escape. Chiana pickpocketed a few people as she assisted them out of the building, obtaining some cheap costume jewelry as well as a locket with a tiny portrait of a handsome elven fellow in it (I plan on involving this fellow at a later point in the adventure). After the mephit was defeated they tried to extinguish the fire with buckets of water but by this time it was too large to manage, covering about a third of the chamber. Eventually Jack played a Plot Twist card (Best Day Ever – Everything works out just right) to have the roof collapse on the western side of the building and smother the fire. For his ingenuity in using a Plot Twist to resolve the problem of the fire I awarded him another card.
Once outside, taking stock of the situation and seeing to the wounded, Oan, being a bit of an anarchist, played a Plot Twist card (Tragedy – Disaster threatens to repeat) to have the fire flare up again from the embers, causing the eastern half of the building to ignite. Jack then played a second card (Schadenfreude – A flood threatens to destroy a foe’s home) and I ruled that one of the water towers in Monument Circle was weakened by the fire, causing it to collapse into the Town Hall, spilling its contents and extinguishing the fire for good. At this point Greta asked the party to track down Calmont, with Captain Wilford Lavendil of the town guard tasking Oan to escort the heroes and bring Calmont back alive for questioning. Warbal escorted the party to Citadael Altaerein, but remained outside as she waited on word about the fate of her tribe.
The party entered the citadel through the hole in the wall near the Court of the Nail. Fighting the graveshells, Oan scored a critical hit with his guisarme after Tendulkar cast Magic Weapon on it. He dealt 44 points of damage in one blow (24+2d10+4), slaying the final graveshell with ease (this would have killed it twice over even had it been at maximum health). The party then moved into the Records Room, with Chiana eager to find any information about her family that she could. The rats there put up a surprising amount of resistance, dodging past foes in the cramped hallway to get to the easier targets of Chiana and Tendulkar. Dangerously wounded at 1 HP, Chiana was able to escape danger as her companions slew the rats at last.
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That’s where we ended the session. We played for about five hours and the session was received well by both myself and the players. I look forward to seeing what these characters do in the future.
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Our second session lasted about six hours and was an unexpected experience, for reasons which will quickly become obvious.
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Continuing to search for information about her father, Chiana leads the way into the Clerk's Chamber, rooting around in the documents there. When Tendulkar enters he spots the bat hanging from the ceiling and takes a shot at it with his bow, missing it. Then things went very, very wrong for the party.
The bat swoops down and crits Chiana, dropping her to Dying 2. Oan plays the first Plot Twist card of the session (Second Wind - Target gains the benefit of the diehard feat for the rest of combat) on her to help prevent her from dying. The remaining party members engage the bat but aren't very effective against it, rolling quite low. A second card is played (Sloth - Target becomes exhausted (there is no exhausted condition in 2e so I ruled the bat was instead fatigued)) to help lower the bat's defenses. As the fight rages on the bat rolls very high, landing crit after crit on the party (I rolled four 18s & 19s in a row). Another card is played (Cliffhanger - A dying target stabilizes immediately) to stabilize Tendulkar after he is dropped. Oan plays his second card of the fight (and last he has) to help defend himself from the bat (Bad News - Target gets a -4 penalty on a single roll). Nothing the party does helps very much though, as one by one they are dropped, including Jack's raven companion. When the dust settles all four PCs are down, Chiana having been dropped twice after a healing potion brought her back up. It is then that Tendulkar plays his first card of the campaign (Witness to History - A remarkable event changes lives) and I ruled that Alak heard the fight against the bat and arrived just after the party was fully dropped. He slew the bat and set about healing the party with potions. It is worth noting that had the party not used a Plot Twist card in this way, this would have been a TPK. I was amazed that this happened, but that’s the cruelty of RNGesus for ya. Going forward I suspect the entire party will let Jack attempt to interact with animals before they attack.
When they are all conscious, Alak introduces himself and tells them a bit about his story. After some time talking, the party realizes that they are in no condition to continue exploring the citadel this day and decide to head back into town and come back the next day. Oan goes to his barracks and the others get a room at the Roaring Pony, where Alak has a room. They lick their wounds, take solace in alcohol and rise the next day ready to get back into it.
The next morning the party was pretty disorganized, and spent the morning largely separated, doing their own thing in town. Tendulkar went to Cayden Keg’s and spent his morning singing songs to the hungover patrons there for a few coppers. Jack spent his time in the common room of the Roaring Pony making soup from the remains of the graveshell he brought back with him, much to the chagrin of morning staff. Chiana went to the Reliant Book Company to see if she could find some books there about the Order of the Nail. Despite me dropping hints from Voz, she didn’t catch on to ask about Calmont, whom the party knew was a former employee here, but instead browsed the shelves looking for promising books. She found one written in Infernal and stole it, but also paid a few coppers for another book to not seem suspicious. Not able to read Infernal, she took it back to Alak at the Roaring Pony to investigate. It turns out this was a romance novel that Alak had already read several times, and thus not exactly what she was hoping for, but everyone got a kick out of it. Oan spent his morning trying to gather up the scattered party members to head back to the citadel, and eventually was able to do so by about midday. Once the party was gathered, they ventured forth once again. Arriving at the citadel, they see the signal smoke is no longer rising from the battlements, an ominous sign.
Re-entering the citadel the same way they did the day before, they heard the warg pups and spent some time investigating the area and wondering what to do about them. They consulted with Warbal and after she assured them that the Bumblebrashers didn’t raise wargs but that the mean goblins were known to, they left some graveshell meat for the pups and decided to leave them there for now, planning on coming back later.
They made their way through the rest of the northern half of the citadel, finding the corpse of an adult warg (after the previous ordeal against the bat I didn’t feel like having them fight another level 2 foe right away) and encountered the skeletons in the Holding Cells. The skeletons were dispatched without much problem and the party moved south. Seeing the courtyard as a potential trap they skirted around it and made their way through the Drill Auditorium and Mess Hall, ending up in the Training Hall. Tendulkar found the secret door and passed through it. His keen halfling eyes also spotted the spear launcher trap, which Chiana was able to disarm.
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We ended the session there and I think one more session will have them finish off the rest of the first floor and then the battlements. We’re progressing slowly but I think we’re all having fun, with non-combat activities taking up a good portion of each session. My players really like getting into the roleplaying portion of the game, and continue roleplaying with each other in character when I have to leave the room. They’re a great group and I look forward to seeing what they do the next time we play.
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The third session was played two weeks ago but I did not post about it at the time. We played for roughly six hours with about an hour or so dedicated to the party advancing to 2nd level. We also had to deal with a sick child, so not all of the remaining five hours were spent playing.
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After finding the secret door to the outside on the western side of the citadel, the party investigated the Test Arena, with Jack being concerned that its continued existence will enable devils to be summoned (I decided that there were no imps here since Alak would have slain them the previous day). Nonplussed, the rest of the party decides to move on.
They find Yoletcha’s shelter and Jack sets fire to it as Oan tries to kick it down. Yoletcha emerges to defend her home and is slain.
The party finds the goblin dogs in the Foyer and leaves them alone for the time being.
Entering the courtyard they are set upon by the grauladon there, but it is temporarily confused and is slain without much effort (Sanity Check: Target becomes confused for 3 rounds).
The party climbs the rope to find the Bumblebrasher tribe and Helba mourning the loss of Yippie the goblin, who was slain by Calmont the previous day. Helba tearfully explains she gave Calmont the information he was seeking: a way into the citadel’s vaults. Helga also tells the PCs about the secret entrance located a little ways down the western slope of the hill and gives them a rough map of the vaults. The PCs level up to 2 before proceeding.
In the northern wing of the citadel’s basement, the party encounters several boggards and charau-kas of the Cinderclaw Cult. Most are slain but one charau-ka is taken captive. From this captive the party learns of the cult members being trapped in the vaults, of their worship of Dahak, and that they came through a portal with their leader, Malarunk.
In an artificial bog in the citadel’s underground living quarters Jack found a mysterious scroll case (Lucky Day: Target finds a single item worth 50 gp or less).
The party encountered the emperor birds that are lost and confused in the dark, and they pacified the birds with offers of graveshell meat. Jack left a lit candle near them so they could see, even if just a little bit.
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All in all things went much more smoothly for the party as they have learned to heal between fights when hurt. This makes sense as they often have one or two members searching the area anyway.
My party also discovered the wonders of healing between fights, they are now a little forward than yours, they already encountered the bear, or did not, they managed to get him outside without fighting him.
As for the birds, mine went with Light and the pc that had light casted went right in front of the birds.. it was a fun fight!
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Our fourth session was last weekend, and a sitter was obtained, so no need to deal with sick children. Hooray!
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Though a closed door, the party hears foes in the Antechamber and set an ambush for the boggard and charau-kas outside Big Bumble's room, promptly slaying them. Jack casts speak with animals and learns of BB's plight and that he has been locked in this room for some time with little food. Jack feeds the bear some meat and the bear is let out as it promised to eat the halfling Jack told it about (Calmont - however since Tendulkar is also a halfling this lead to some concern on his part). However, as soon as BB is out of the room it gorges itself on the corpses of boggards and charau-ka the party has been fighting and then leaves, apparently headed to the exit and freedom.
The party enters the War Room, and Chiana picks up the soulbound doll, whereupon it comes to life, screaming “Take me with you!” in Infernal and attacking her. Chiana flings it to the ground and retreats, and the party dispatches the doll with alchemist’s fire. Oan, being the only party memebr that speaks Infernal, pockets the soul gem from inside the doll as the party leaves the room. I have some plans to utilize this soul gem in the future that I am really looking forward to.
As the party enters the Southern Armory, the gelatinous cube lurches forward. Chiana is paralyzed, Oan and Jack are alternately engulfed, and the party has a generally tough time against the ooze before BB the grizzly bear charges into the room (Plot Twist: GM rolls for a random encounter). BB is promptly engulfed but manages to slay the ooze from inside. Once the ooze discorporates, BB leaves the room, once again heading for the smell of fresh air and the freedom it promises. The party finds the remains of Calmont - he was being digested inside the ooze.
After a brief discussion about returning to town to report Calmont's death and collect their reward, the party decides to press on, in the Northern Armory the party encounters the kobolds Pibb and Zarf. They realize these are the “MITEY DRAGONS” whose lair they had found earlier, and Jack (who speaks Draconic) tricks Pibb into approaching when he offers meat, whereupon Oan promptly chomps Pibb in half with a critical from his guisarme. The rest of the party slays Zarf before the kobold can even react. Chiana is sad as she thought the pair were cute and wanted to parley with them.
Chiana finds the secret door to the Hall of Lictors where wights stand guard over sarcophagi. She discovers that they do not attack her because of her medallion, and she uses the medallion to open the sarcophagus and find the Zataal heirloom (the party's first magic weapon - a +1 striking dagger) and a note from her father while the rest of the party waits outside so as to provoke the wights. She then opens the remaining sarcophagi and takes the weapons found within. The party spends some time examining the runes on the wall, but cannot figure out what they are for.
Entering the Sepulcher of the Nail, Chiana starts to unlock more sarcophagi while Jack discovers the skeletal guardians. In the ensuing fight the skeletal hellknight chops Jack down multiple times after Jack destroys three skeletons with one blow from his shillelagh (it had the Explosive Death trait and Jack did 43 points of damage on a critical - more than 10x the skeleton's maximum HP!). Oan brings the remaining skeletons down with his new magic halberd, finishing the skeletal hellknight by smashing a vial of holy water into its face. The other party members are not too happy that their rogue spent almost the entire fight looting instead of fighting.
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We played for a solid six hours. It's refreshing how smoothly things go when sick children aren't around as a distraction.
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Session five was a short one as we ended earlier than normal and some time was taken once again for the characters to advance in level during the session.
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Exploring the Ossuary, the party is set upon by the Hellcrowns, which are defeated without much difficulty, though Oan takes a few nails during the fight. Tendulkar finds the wand of heal and gives it to Jack as he is the only one that can use it currently.
Moving into the Vault of the Nail the party finds Alak’s ring as well as the scrolls and holy symbol of Alseta. Chiana pockets the ring and vows the get it to Alak, who is back in town. Each party member examines the candles and ashes on the table but not a single one of them is able to determine what kind of spell was cast in this room as arcana and religion are not anyone’s strong suit. Some time is spent examining the tracks here and Chiana is able to determine that whoever left them entered from the back room, exiting through the western door and then came back through this room in a big hurry. The party deduces that the skeletons they defeated previously were the cause of this hasty exit.
In the Regalia Storage room the banner for the Order of the Nail is discovered, but due to its size it is decided to leave it here for Alak to come recover if he wishes. Examining the tunnel in the eastern wall Jack determines that it is both magical in origin and heading straight back to town. They take the tunnel back to town, and as they are halfway back Oan hears in his mind a high-pitched voice speaking Infernal. He alone hears the voice say “Thank you for taking me with you.” The party advances to 3rd level before reaching the end of the tunnel.
Finding the ladder and trapdoor at the end of the tunnel, the party ascends into the storage room of the Pickled Ear. Not finding this particularly odd they move through the kitchen into the taproom, where Roxie proceeds to yell at them. Anxious to receive their reward for tracking down Calmont (whose body they have been carrying with them this entire time) they are eager to see the town council, but being well after midnight they will have to wait until the morning.
Back at the Roaring Pony Chiana gives the ring to Alak, who thanks her for reuniting him with his father’s ring. Chiana expresses interest in learning Infernal from Alak and flirts with him a bit before heading to her own room for the night.
In the morning Tendulkar spends some time at the livery feeding his mule Amy, and after a hearty breakfast of apples and graveshell meat the party heads out to see the council. Since the town hall is partially destroyed the council is conducting their business at Wizard’s Grace. Calmont’s demise is explained to the council as well as what the current status of the citadel is, and the party begins making plans for converting the citadel into a proper defense for the town, aiming at having the Bumblebrashers run and maintain it.
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We played for about five hours, though a good chunk of that was taken up with the characters advancing in level. We also spent some time talking about politics and such (Happy Thanksgiving everybody!), likely due to the copious amount of wine consumed during the session.
Since they didn't speak much at all with Roxie or the patrons at the Pickled Ear I will have to come up with some way for them to speak with her again, or otherwise find their way back to Voz's bookshop. It is starting to look like I will need to be heavier-handed with breadcrumbs for this party.
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Session six was last night and lasted six hours. It turns out I didn't have to leave breadcrumbs as I thought I might, which was a relief as I'd rather the party figure as much out on their own as possible.
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The session opened with the party in the Wizard's Grace, having just reported back to Greta regarding the fate of Calmont and the status of the Bumblebrashers.
After reporting back to Captain Lavendil, Oan is tasked with discovering who made the tunnel and finding out of there are more, and eventually collapsing the tunnels or otherwise disabling them as they provide a security threat to the town.
Oan heads over to Lamond's Lament to see if any of the folk there know about the tunnel or suspicious activity around the Pickled Ear. He spectacularly fails all of his checks to gather information, so I roleplay it that folks in the shadier part of town are not willing to talk to a guard in uniform.
Tendulkar heads to the Pickled Ear and convinces Roxie to let him busker outside the door in an attempt to lure in customers.
Chiana and Jack head inside to make it look like Tendulkar was successful, and they go to the bar and chat up Roxie. Chiana finds out that Roxie isn't quite being honest with her, and finds out she has been accepting hush money. Jack asks how much it would take to buy the information they're seeking, and when told 5 gp he pays Roxie 105 sp, not quite grasping the nuances of currency yet. Roxie spills the beans about Voz and the party spends some time deciding what to do.
Learning about Voz potentially being a necromancy makes Oan nervous, so he heads to Morta's Mortuary to see if she can be of assistance with Chiana and jack in tow. Although some fun roleplaying is had, ultimately Morta isn't able to provide any new information to the party.
While the others are at the mortuary, Tendulkar stays back at the Pickled Ear to continue gathering information. He questions Willie the cook but doesn't learn much. The tunnel is still there, the same as it was the previous night, and eventually he heads out after concluding that neither Roxie nor Willie knew about the tunnel.
Oan leads Jack and Chiana to Vusker’s Carts & Wheels to see if he can assist with the crafting of some custom defenses for the town. His order placed, they finally head to the Reliant Book Company just before sunset. Tendulkar meets the, outside, and after much discussion on how to proceed they finally opt to break in through one of the windows. Jack sends in Corvus, his raven, to poke about. Chiana follows soon after.
Chiana takes a look around, noting the ledger and the comments written inside about the purchase and theft of the scroll. She tries the door to Voz's Personal Chambers but the lock is too tricky, so she heads into the Research Room. Failing to spot the trap, she triggers it and is critically struck down (48 damage!).
Tendulakr plays a card to try to save her (Save the Day: Good fortune saves you from harm) so I rule that the trap will make a second attack and use that roll. I roll just one number lower, so the critical hit stands. Startled by the attack, Corvus comes flying back out of the window with some of Chiana's blood on him. Alerted by this, Jack casts stabilize to prevent Chiana from dying.
Tendulkar goes in to treat Chiana with his medicine kit, and Jack follows to assist. Chiana is brought back to consciousness and they search the Research Room. They find the evidence that Voz left in a hurry, as well as the clues to Guardian's Way.
Jack tries to kick in the door the Voz's Personal Chambers but fails, so he casts shillelagh on his staff and breaks down the door. They find the remaining clues as well as the scrolls, then decide to depart. They stage the scene to look like a break-in (which was unnecessary since that’s exactly what it was) and climb back out the window. Oan, who has been standing guard outside the store to prevent nosy passers-by from interfering, sighs and they decide to call it a night.
The following morning the head out to Guardian’s Way, arriving late in the morning. The Bloody Blades spot them as they are not being stealthy, and after several warnings to leave are not followed, a fight breaks out.
Jack casts jump to leap up onto the central platform, but is promptly kicked off by the nearest mercenary with a shove action. Jack makes manages to grab the edge to prevent falling twenty feet to the forest floor below. Tendulkar and Oan fire arrows from below and Chiana uses mage hand to drop the nearest rope ladder and starts to climb up. Arrows rain down on everyone from all three platforms as the rest of the mercenaries join the fight.
Climbing back up, Jack once again threatens the same Bloody Blade, but is once again kicked off the edge. Again he grabs the edge to prevent his fall, and we all have a chuckle at the absurdity of the same situation happening two rounds in a row. Later in the fight a third attempt would be made, but the mercenary (dubbed Leonidas by Jack’s player) critically fails his shove attempt, likely due to the arrows he suffered earlier, and he falls off the platform to his death.
After a few of the mercenaries fall Dmiri rushes out to join the fray. Oan plays a card to hinder her (Sanity Check: Target is confused for three rounds). One her next turn I take some time trying to figure out what she is going to do, so Chiana plays a card (Moment of Indecision: Indecisiveness leads to inaction) and Dmiri is just so confused by what is happening all around her she misses her turn. Due to the great use of cards the party is able to defeat the remaining Bloody Blades without much hassle, and the shack is thoroughly searched, revealing the items and cash found inside.
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We ended the session there and had some dialogue afterwards regarding the actions of players and rogues in the party. Much of the time Chiana (being a rogue) is the first to loot bodies, and this can sometimes lead to discomfort with players, especially if loot doesn’t end up evenly distributed. We’re all adults and the conversation was civil, and I am glad my players can be open about things like this, before they become a problem if left unaddressed. I’ll be keeping an eye out in future sessions to make sure I am not neglecting anyone when it comes to loot.
Regarding the rogue and the loot, i once had in a campaign of mine (D&D 3rd Edition) a Rogue who had a agreement with me, he would pocket always some gems and money when he was doing the search, but he was not greedy, and when it was needed to have money to buy stuff for the good overall of the party he was always there giving money.
The party only found out when the campaign ended and they reacted just fine because yes, he was not greedy and it was a good party member.
Great write-up Fumarole! I'm really enjoying reading about your players' exploits. Can't wait for session 7.
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Great write-up Fumarole! I'm really enjoying reading about your players' exploits. Can't wait for session 7.
Thanks, it's good to know people enjoy reading about our adventures. We've had a long time off due to the holidays and a few dips into the recently-released Alien RPG, but our next game is this weekend, so I should have something new to post early next week.
Yeah, that Alien RPG book is amazing. The presentation is top notch and really nails the feel. I'm hoping to compel some folks I know to give it a shot for a one off. I'm super curious how it plays.
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Session seven was Saturday night and was seven hours, though about an hour was once again taken up by the party advancing in level.
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Jack sends his raven companion Corvus into the Goblinblood caves to scout ahead. Corvus doesn’t find anything other than some nice big bugs to eat, but does come back covered in spiderwebs. The party cautiously enters, Oan illuminating the way with the everburning torch found inside the old supply shack.
Finding the footprints left in the damp ground, the party follows the right hand tunnel and encounters Voz and her skeletons. A fight breaks out and Oan leads the way by charging in. Oan manages to damage the skeletal champion with his light hammer and positions himself between it and Voz. Voz casts a spell, and Oan strikes her as she does, but unfortunately the spell overcomes his willpower and he is paralyzed. Chiana and Jack engage the other skeleton and manage to destroy it without difficulty. Tendulakr remains in the back, playing music to inspire his companions to great deeds. Voz drains the life from Oan to heal herself and she is back in the fight and healthier than ever. The skeletal champion hacks away at Oan as he remains paralyzed, causing Chiana to play a card to heal him, harming herself in the process (Warm Fuzzy - One ally chooses a number of d8s of damage to take; another ally heals that amount). Voz critically hits Chiana with an acid arrow, dropping her. Jack plays a card (Betrayal - Allies become enemies) and the skeletal champion attacks Voz for a round before being destroyed by Chiana. His paralyzation wearing off, Oan drops his weapons and grabs Voz, attempting to subdue her to take back to town for questioning. While grabbed, Voz manages to put Tendulkar to sleep but he is awakened by his mule Amy after she steps on him as a result of him playing a card (Cherished Gift - Someone gets sentimental). Voz is eventually slain by Jack and Corvus as she was unable to escape Oan’s headlock.
Finding Voz’s journal and correspondence, Chiana plays a card (Collective Memory - Target can understand, speak, and read any single language for 10 minutes) to be able to read Necril. The party learns of Voz’s plans to start an assassin’s guild and necromantic laboratory in the basement of Citadel Altaerein, as well as her search for Alseta’s Ring. They also come across the name of the Scarlet Triad, and they know this is a minor merchant housed based in Katapesh. It seems the person Voz is trading letters with is Laslunn, though they do not recognize the name.
Exploring the northern part of the caves, the party finds the tixitog lair and spots the egg sack suspended in the webbing. Chiana uses mage hand to carry a vial of oil to the webs and Jack uses produce flame to set it alight. Thousands of baby spiders emerge from the sack, running about the room on fire but eventually expire before causing any harm. In the silent aftermath of arachnid genocide, a chittering voice comes from the roof and asks them “Why did you kill my babies?” Realizing they may have made a mistake, the party apologizes and slowly backs out of the room. Jack feels bad about slaying thousands of baby spiders that were not posing a threat to the party as such a deed goes against the Green Faith.
Pushing further into the caves, the party discovers the remains of the spiders and vermin slain by Voz and her undead minions. After hours of travel through the twisting caves, they come across the spider nest. Jack spots the spiders on the ceiling and manages to placate them with soothing words spoken in Druidic. Satisfied the spiders won’t attack provided they are not harassed, the party quickly moves unmolested through this cave into the northern passage.
At the drop into the Ralldar’s lair, the party sees him in his goblinoid form sitting atop the bone throne, surrounded by his “worshippers.” Ralldar spots the party and demands tribute, screaming at the top of his lungs. Confident they’re facing a lone goblin, Oan and Chiana drop down to approach the crazed goblinoid. After the party refused to acquiesce to his demands, Ralldar shifts into his true form and combat begins. Chiana moves behind him to flank and prevents an atack of opportunity by playing a card (Rock and a Hard Place - Target cannot make any attacks of opportunity for 1 round). She scores some hits with her magical rapier, enraging Ralldar. Oan strikes with his silver light hammer but it has little effect. Ralldar casts enlarge on himself, growing in size to almost fill the room, and critically bites Oan, dropping him from almost-full health to dying. This serves as a wakeup call to the party as to how dangerous Ralldar is, so Tendulkar throws his magic bow to Ralldar’s feet, hoping to appease him. Jack drops down and heals Oan. Hearing the shouting and fighting, Renali shows up on the southern ledge into the room, shouting “Fly you fools, you cannot defeat him!” to the party as she tries to distract Ralldar away from the party. Ralldar takes a swipe and Renali, seriously hurting her. Chiana weighs options on how to escape, considering fleeing down the tight tunnel to her right. Jack steps up to Ralldar to defend his friends, casting shillelagh on his staff and playing a card to make it glow with holy might (Not Black and White - Target weapon gains the holy or unholy special weapon quality for one combat). Renali casts color spray to dazzle Ralldar, but this will only slightly slow him down.
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We left the session in the middle of combat, and the party is concerned about how they are going to escape this situation alive. This fight is by far the toughest they've faced yet, even including their almost-TPK. That previous fight was a result of great rolls on the bat's behalf and terrible rolls on theirs. This time the fight is straight up challenging, and they will need to use all of their resources and wits to defeat Ralldar.
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Session eight was last night and lasted roughly six hours, though some of that time was spent discussing the life cycles of stars (I'm not sure how this conversation started, it was in progress when I returned from the bathroom).
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Chiana escapes Ralldar by quickly squeezing down the narrow tunnel to his refuge. She also plays a card (Tipping Point - Target delays all actions until the end of the round) to give her comrades a chance to escape. Oan runs up to Ralldar, critically striking him with his sword with help from a card played by Chiana (Best Day Ever - Target treats its next roll of 1 as a 20), then heads down the eastern passage as he is severely wounded. Tendulkar runs after Oan, with two potions ready to help him out. Jack strikes Ralldar with his staff, still enhanced with holy power, and Ralldar begins to show signs of distress. Renali casts invisibility on herself and slides down the slope to make her way around the fight. Enraged at being hurt and also at an intruder daring to invade his home, Ralldar shifts back to his goblin form so he can pursue Chiana. He sticks his oversized head into the narrow tunnel and yells after her “Get away from my treasures!” Chiana pays no attention to the threat behind her and tosses Ralldar’s home. Oan chugs a healing potion given to him by Tendulkar, while Tendulkar runs back into the large chamber to retrieve his bow. Jack and Corvus continue their attack, but as Corvus flies around to flank him Ralldar lashes out with a claw, critically striking Corvus down. Seeing his friend struck down Jack lashes out at Ralldar, bringing him close to death. Renali takes advantage and attacks Ralldar while invisible, slaying him with her fangs. Now visible and realizing Jack saw her use her fangs, Renali drops Ralldar’s limp body and sheepishly steps away from the slain barghest.
Oan manages to fight off the poison afflicting him with help from Jack using leeches to drain some of his tainted blood. Intrigued by Renali, Chiana asks about her and what she is doing in these caves as Jack tends to his fallen bird. Renali tells the party that she followed Malarunk through a portal in the Mwangi jungle and that she has been trapped in these caves for some time. Renali sees an opportunity to get back home with the help of the PCs, and offers to help them fight Malarunk so she can use the portal. Jack suspects Renali is some kind of vampire and is wary of her offers of help.
Renali leads the group to the mushroom cave, where Jack quickly identifies the danger. He uses ray of frost to neutralize the deadly fungus and the party spends some time and effort getting the party, and Amy the mule, down the hole. Renali points out Malarunk and his minions up ahead as the party decides on how to ambush the cultists. They ultimately decide to have Renali cast illusory creature to make it seem like Ralldar has come for the cultists, forcing them to flee the portal chamber into an ambush laid by the party.
Renali casts her spell but it doesn’t intimidate the cultists, instead they attack it in earnest. The fight is joined in earnest with the illusion fooling all of the cultists and drawing their attacks away from the party. Malarunk hits the party with a fireball and Jack responds with an acid arrow. Chiana and Oan flank the lesser minions while Tendulkar inspires them from the entrance to the chamber. Malarunk and his minions put up very little resistance and are struck down without too much effort, with Renali striking Malarunk down with her powerful fangs.
After Chiana sees Renali use her fangs with deadly efficiency, she gets Renali to reveal her true nature to her. Being fromGarund, Chiana had heard about the people known as anadi. Though she had never met one before this day. Convinces Renali means them no harm, they agree to help her return home through Huntergate, though Chiana does not want to go to the Mwangi again, due to her history there. But that won’t happen yet, not before they see what is behind the door to the north. With Alseta’s holy symbol, Chiana passes the doorwarden with no issue and the party finds the deed to Citadel Altaerein. While Oan found the document, he wasn’t very concerned with it and so handed it over to Jack, who reads it and realizes what it is. Chiana’s greed rears its head and she tries to take the deed from Jack to set herself up as a Lady with her own castle. Ultimately the party (jokingly?) decides to evict the Bumblebrashers and claim the citadel for themselves.
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Thus ended book one of the adventure path, on a very high note after the very low end of the previous session. Oan's player was convinced he was going to die, but with good rolls and excellent use of Plot Twist cards the party prevailed. I can't wait to see how this group reacts in the jungle, especially Chiana given her dark history there.
I have typed up all of my session notes into a Google document and added photos taken during the session. You can find the document here. I will continue to update this document with notes and photos as our campaign progresses. Thanks to MSAbaddon for the wonderful Goblinblood Caves map seen in the document. All other maps not credited are created by me and can be found here, where MSAbbadon's map can also be found.
Session nine was last night and we played for about four hours. Since it has been seven months since our last game, I spend almost an hour beforehand recapping the events of the Hellknight Hill, both to refresh the memories of the returning players and get the two new players at the table up to speed on the events of the campaign.
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The heroes decide to start repairing their newly acquired citadel. Oan talks to his captain and secures the help of a few of the town watch while Jack convinces the Bumblebrashers to help out as well. Chiana continues research in the citadel’s library. Tendulkar spends his time singing about the exploits of the heroes in the taverns and inns around town.
Two itinerant adventures, Zol the elven wizard and Rocko his dwarven companion, hear one such song sung by Tendulkar. Hearing how part of the song is about elven aiudara possibly being located in the area, Zol immediately signals Tendulkar over to tell them more. Tendulkar relates the story of the heroes in detail, and Zol and Rocko decide to head up to the citadel immediately.
Presenting themselves at the front door, Zol and Rocko greet the new owners of the castle. They explain that they are on a quest to discover the secrets of the aiudara, and offer to help. After the stairs are repaired Zol spends two days studying the portal before figuring out how to activate it. Renali eagerly says farewell and heads through. There is some debate about how to proceed, but ultimately the heroes (and their new friends) decide to enter the portal to investigate what is on the other side. Tendulkar decides to remain behind and see to the repairs of the castle.
Beyond the portal is a tunnel, hot and smoky. Suddenly a dragon made of flame manifests before the party, scorching them with its fiery breath. Some time is spent fighting it before the heroes realize they may perish in this hellish tunnel, and they escape out the portal at the far side, Zol badly burned and near collapse from the fiery dragon’s attacks.
On the far side of the tunnel the heroes find themselves in the ruins of an ancient temple, deep in the jungle, facing numerous elven warriors.
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That's where we ended, with the players desperately hoping the elves are not hostile as they are all hurt after encountering the vision of Dahak. All but the last 30 minutes or so were spent discussing the repairs to the citadel, rolling appropriate checks, as well as roleplaying done when the two new characters met the party. Tendulkar's player sadly has dropped out of the game, so it was decided his character will administer the castle while the party is off adventuring.
My full campaign notes with photos can be found here.
I've enjoyed reading this, and it's made me want to start a campaign diary of sorts of AoA (only three sessions in so far, so probably isn't too late to start). You've also convinced me to use the plot twist cards in some future campaign.
Session 10 was on Saturday night and lasted about six hours. Perhaps an hour of this was occupied by the players levelling up their characters before leaving Akrivel.
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Recognizing that these are Ekujae elves and that they do not pose a threat if the party does not act rashly, Chiana talks the elves down and introductions are made. Jahsi explains that they recently fought some of the Cinderclaws here, and he is relieved to learn that the party are foes of the CInderclaws as well. Jahsi tells the party that he will bring them to his daughter, as she might be able to help them discover more about the Cinderclaws.
The party arrives at Akrivel, and Nketiah greets them beneath the largest tree they’re ever seen. She introduces herself as the linguist of the Leopard clan and invites them to their home in the trees. Jahsi’s elves nimbly climb up the trees as Nketiah’s wooden arm stretches and grows, disappearing up into the canopy above. She winks at the party and says “Your first test” as she disappears high above them as her wooden arm contracts. With a combination of spells and climbing ability, the party is able to ascend up into the heights, though Zol must be carried by Jack as he uses spider climb to quickly catch up to the others.
Up in the canopy on an elevated platform, the party sees that the Ekujae settlement expands for miles around them, and they must have been traveling underneath it for quite some time without realizing it. Nketiah is there to welcome them, and tells them that since it is after dark they can speak more in the morning. The party gratefully collapses into some hammocks and spends a restful night recovering from their injuries.
The following morning Nketiah informs the party that there will be a great feast that evening in their honor as they are formally welcomed as guests of the clan. Until then they are free to do as they see fit. Over the course of the day the party splits up and goes about business on their own.
Jack is enticed into a dance competition by some young girls of the clan. Unfortunately for Jack he seems to have been born with two left feet and is unable to maintain the beat. He winds up falling on his rear, embarrassing himself to the amusement of the elves that had gathered around to watch. Seeing this, Rocko decides he can do better, and indeed he does. Rocko manages to not only out dance his partner, he does so on time to the beat. The gathered elves smile and nod in approval at the skillful grace of this dwarf.
Seeing Akosa staring at him from across the platform, Rocko wanders over to see what is going on. He learns that Akosa is leading a hunting party to get some game for the feast that night, so he accepts Akosa’s invitation to join them on the hunt. Seeking to escape from his embarrassment earlier, Jack decides to join them as well. Though Jack manages to make things more difficult on the hunting party than they otherwise would be, they manage to bring down several waterbucks to take back to the cooks preparing the meal.
Nketiah takes Zol, Chiana and Oan to meet the clan leaders, the twins Ose Atsu and Ose Panin. While Chiana and Zol demure when asked about what they excel at, Oan proudly states that he is a fierce warrior. The twins become excited and signal to one of the elves standing at the periphery. The largest elf Oan has ever seen steps forward, holding two wooden practice swords. He tosses one to Oan and takes up a guarded stance. Oan salutes with the sword and strikes swiftly, hitting the elf square in the chest while simultaneously sweeping with his foot to trip the elf. Landing hard on his back, the elf is defeated more quickly that he ever has been in his life. Cheers erupt from the gathered crowd as the twin leaders smile approvingly. At a signal from the twins, the large elf presents Oan with a gift - Fey’s Finality: a cold iron dagger that can magically shift into other forms. Oan graciously accepts the gift and the accompanying accolades.
Chiana finds her way to the clan’s tattooist, seeking to acquire one of their snake fang needles. He tells her that would be inappropriate until after the feast that night and she leaves, disappointed.
Back from the hunt, Rocko and Jack drop off the waterbucks and notice several children following them. Nketiah translates for them, telling them that the children heard northerners cannot stomach spicy food. Taking umbrage, Rocko steps up to accept the challenge, and several spicy chili peppers are produced. Though he manages to eat more than the children, Rocko is unable to eat them all without getting sick. Seeing his opportunity to outshine Rocko as was done to him during the dance, Jack steps up to the pepper challenge as well. Maybe it is because he is a “dirt priest” (as Oan calls him), raised in the wilds and eating all manner of strange and disgusting things, but Jack is able to eat every pepper without feeling any ill effects. For his hardy stomach Jack is awarded a jar of the oil of the peppers, said to have miraculous properties to alleviate paralysis.
The party notices a strange sight at the edge of town - a lioness is perched on a tree branch, watching them warily. Realizing that this is a strange sight indeed in a jungle, Jack approaches the lioness cautiously. Skilled as he is in the ways of wild beasts, Jack is able to put the lioness at ease. He casts speak with animals to discover why the lion is here. He learns the lion is called Harriet and was brought to the jungle as a cub by a clueless human. As it turns out Harriet likes the jungle and has decided to adopt the Leopard clan as her children. Harriet believed the elves would be helpless in the jungle without her so she “protects” them. Later on the party would learn that the elves see Harriet as a kind of mascot and are amused by her presence.
The feast begins in earnest, and a good time is had by all. The waterbuck is cooked to perfection, and there are vegetables, fruits and other bounty that is available in the jungle by those who know where to look. Once the meal is completed, the clan gathers around Nketiah as she prepares to tell one of her stories.
Nketiah relates the story of how her people defeated the Darkness (known to them as Dahak) long ago, as everyone gathered around listens attentively. The party realizes that what they encountered in the tunnel between portals was some small portion of Dahak’s power, and shudder at the thought of how they’d fare had they faced its full wrath. At the conclusion of her story, Nketiah invites the party members to tell their own stories. One by one the party tells their own story, some detailed, some honest, some tragic. At the conclusion of the stories the party are officially welcomed, and are considered part of the clan.
After things settle down a bit, Nketiah approaches the party and explains to them that the clan has a problem with the Cinderclaws. The party learns of the dragon pillars, similar to the one they saw destroyed outside the Temple of Ketephys, and that these are likely causing the Ekujae to be stricken with blindness. Since their goals are aligned, the party agrees to seek out the source of the magical affliction, and Nketiah promises all the support the clan can provide. In the morning, given fresh supplies as well as some magical equipment from the clan, the party sets out to eradicate the Cinders claws once and for all.
On a map of the region provided by Nketiah, the party decides to first head towards the village of the elephant people, several days travel to the south. On the way they encounter some sick kobolds, hiding in a makeshift hideaway. Chiana is able to disable the crude trap set by the kobolds, and also that they are apparently afflicted with arsenic poisoning. Getting a bit of info out of the kobolds about the possible location of a gold mine run by the Cinderclaws, Chiana decides to put them out of their misery. She slays one and Jack zaps more with his magic as the rest of the sick and pathetic kobolds flee into the jungle. Realizing that they will surely die anyway, the rest of the party just lets them go.
Two days later the party has crafted a crude boat to cross the river, though that morning both Chiana and Zol awoke with dysentery.
The party finally reaches the village of the elephant people, though they find only a burned-out ruin. Two elephant matrons try to scare off the party, though Jack is able to keep them at ease and prevent their charging. Chiana and Rocko sneak around the perimeter and find a man trapped under a fallen timber. They are able to free him, and he is then able to calm the elephants down. They learn his name is Edka, and he tells them the village was destroyed in a Cinderclaw attack several days ago.
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That's where we ended as it was quite late into the night. The players have been levelling up every other session so far, and I think this pace is a bit fast. I am going to slow things down as they move through the jungle by adding in some custom encounters that do not have anything to do with the main storyline, but instead are just little side treks to pick up a little bit more loot (so far I have mostly kept to treasure as outlined in the book, but with five PCs now I need to add a bit more).
As usual, all of my campaign notes for the game so far can be found here, along with photos.
Session 11 was last Saturday and we played for six hours.
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After Edka assures the party he will be okay on his own with the two elephants, the party spends time discussing how next they will explore the region, on the hunt for dragon pillars. They quickly decide to try to find the gold mine that the kobolds told them about. Traveling north of the river, they encounter an explorer named Gerhard Pendergrast. Gerhard was among the ruins of a battle, and there was a dragon pillar wrapped in cloth that Gerhard was trying to get into his boat. At the offer of gold for their services, Rocco jumps to and easily carries the pillar to the boat, thanks to his lifting belt.
Thanking them for the help Gerhard jumps into the boat and starts paddling away. Realizing that the pillar is still radiating magic and thus can possibly continue to function, the party attacks Gerhard in an attempt to stop him. Chiana races down the shore following the boat and gets a faceful of grapeshot when Gerhard discharges the strange item he is carrying. In retribution, she uses mage hand to grab the oar that Gerhard dropped, flinging it into the river and away from him. Unable to row or steer, Gerhard is only able to drift on the current and hurl insults at the party. A fireball from Zol and a lightning bolt from Jack are enough to damage the boat and pillar sufficiently that Gerhard realizes he cannot win, so he dives into the river and disappears from sight. The party recovers the boat and dismantles the pillar.
Continuing their exploration of the jungle, the party comes across the green pillar in a clearing. While trying to sneak up on it, two jungle drakes fly out to attack. One of the drakes flies up and grabs Corvus in its jaws as the other lands and harasses Chiana. With help from Harriet (who charges in from the trees to grab hold of a drake) the party manages to kill the drakes while fighting off the effects of poison from the pillar. Oan then charges the pillar at full speed, putting his shoulder into it and knocking it over. With the pillar disabled, the party is able to dismantle it to remove all its magic.
While camping that night, the party is set upon by a Cinderclaw patrol. Luckily for them, Oan is on watch and is always vigilant. He spots the attack and manages to wake Jack and Rocco before a fight starts. The cultists are dispatched easily, though Harriet is gravely wounded by a charau-ka dragonpriest. She runs off into the trees, but with help from Oan (Dream: The target's next night of rest heals it for double the normal amount) and she is right as rain in the morning. With the midnight ambush the party realizes that their actions have been noticed, and vow to continue on and help their Ekujae friends.
Seeing the cliffs from a distance, the party decides to investigate. They come across an ancient temple and who do they see at the entrance? It is none other than Gerhard Pendergrast! Smoking a cigar with an air of superiority, he angrily tells them that they will not prevent him from destroying this “mistake of a temple” and he drops his lit cigar onto a trail of black powder at his feet. The powder immediately lights on fire, disappearing under the door of the temple. Realizing that time is short if they intend to save the temple, the party jumps into action. Jack casts gust of wind, targeting the space under the door, and this extinguishes the fire and scatters the power around. Zol takes a dagger to the thigh as Gerhard flings it at him, grinning madly as he vows to take back his blunderbuss (which Zol has been using as a cane). Oan charges Gerhard with help from Chiana. Rocco fires arrow after arrow, but has a hard time hitting Gerhard (it must be because of the wind). Gerhard rings Chiana’s bell with a manly left hook and Oan suffers the effects of whiplash and is tripped when he closes the distance. Harriet jumps into the fray and the party is able to kill Gerhard at last. Oan recovers the bag of holding that Gerhard had on him and the party starts examining this strange temple they have found deep in the jungle.
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That's where we ended, and I think in our next session I will spring some custom encounters on the party. If you're interested in those yourself, they can be found in the Community Created Content thread for Age of Ashes.
As usual, all of my campaign notes for the game so far can be found here, along with photos.
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Session twelve was a week and a half ago, I forgot to document the session, so here it is, albeit late. We played for only five hours or so, as when we ended the party was about to do something ridiculous and I need some time to think about how exactly it would play out once executed.
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The party spends some time in the temple, finding the various items therein. Happy to have a dry place to settle in for the night, they sleep soundly. Before leaving in the morning, they take the three kegs of gunpowder, stuffing them into the bag of holding they found on Gerhard.
Traveling through the jungle once again, they encounter a watering hole thick with flies. Several large fungi are near the water, and when the party approaches they emit clouds of spores and attack, seeking to feed on the interlopers. Rocco is affected by the spores, and believes his bow to be a deadly snake. He drops it and runs for his life, leaving the party behind. Remembering how he defeated the mushrooms in the Goblinblood caves, Jack uses ray of frost, but it has little effect on these creatures. As the fungi slowly move forward to feed, Zol runs beyond them to retrieve Rocco’s bow. As he does, dead bodies start lurching out of the muddy watering hole and attack. The party is able to dispatch these foes without much difficulty, and Rocco shamefacedly makes his way back to help finish off the last of their opponents and reclaim his bow that Zol recovered for him. On the bodies of the dead that rose from the water, the party finds some healing potions and magic arrows.
The next day finds the party coming across the Cinderclaw mine. As they approach, a toucan lands on Jack’s shoulder and speaks in Nketiah’s voice, saying “Be careful, the way ahead is very dangerous.” Jack shrugs this warning off, saying “Everywhere we go is dangerous.” Seeing a large number of Cinderclaws, they decide to sneak around the north side of the camp, towards a large wooden cage holding a petulant dinosaur. The plan is to free the dino and hope it tears through the camp, causing damage and cause, giving them some cover to infiltrate elsewhere.
With Oan and Zol staying behind, the others sneak around to enact this plan. Unfortunately for them, they are spotted by the vrock hiding in the trees, and it leaps to attack them. Chiana is immediately affected by its vine spores, green root erupting from her body as she is wracked by painful spasms. The demon screeches angrily, not only striking fear into the PCs but also alerting the camp to their presence.
The party has a very difficult fight versus the vrock, but with help from Harriet and Vati (Chiana’s boa constrictor) they manage to grab onto the vrock and force it to spend time shaking them off. As the rest of the party fights the demon, Rocco and Zol start working their way around to the cage with the dino in it, hoping to free it. Just as they reach the cage the vrock is eventually brought down, with the party badly bruised and beaten.
Seeing their demon guarding defeated, the Cinderclaws rally and start forward to attack. The dino is let loose and it flies into a murderous rage, charging the Cinderclaws who had treated it poorly. As the dino and the cultists fight, Zol casts a fireball into the crowd, killing several. In retaliation, a kobold that emerged from a wooden shack raises its staff and retaliates in turn, fireballing the party. Realizing that they need to retreat and regroup, the party falls back into the trees, the sounds of combat fading behind them as the cultists fight the dino.
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We ended there as the party was discussing options on how to attack the gold mine camp once again. Their current plan is to cast ant haul on Corvus and have him carry the three kegs of gunpowder above the camp, dropping it from above. They would then detonate them with a fireball.
Seeing as how they were already under-leveled for this encounter, I told them to level up to 7 before our next session. It is a bit early for them to do so, but only by one or two encounters.
Session thirteen was last weekend, and lasted about four hours. Much of the session (perhaps half) was spent with the party planning their next steps, so there wasn't a whole lot that happened other than a second fight at the mine.
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Having recovered from their initial assault on the mine, the party returns the following day. Corvus flies high above the mine to scout things out, while Jack observes through Corvus using the spell familiar’s face. Jack sees the dragon pillar at the bottom of the mine, and the Cinderclaws going about their business. He also sees the sabosans at the edge of the camp, and though he doesn’t know what they are, Oan is able to identify them from Jack's description. Jack also sees the corpse of the mkole-mbembe, surrounded by the bodies of several Cinderclaws that it killed before being taken down itself. The party decides to attack that night, after a Cinderclaw search party is dodged in the jungle.
Under the cover of darkness, Rocco sneaks into Hezle’s hut and plants the kegs of gunpowder recovered from the temple that Gerhard Pendergrast was attempting to blow up. He grabs Hezle’s staff before exiting and throwing a bottle of alchemist’s fire at the kegs. The explosion that follows was weaker than anticipated, and instead of being killed, Hezle is awake and angry, though seriously burned.
At the sound of the explosion Jack and Chiana attack the barracks at the south side of the camp, while Zol and Oan provide support for Rocco. Multiple wall of fire spells are cast to fence in the Cinderclaws at the barracks, and fireballs are used to finish off the swampseers found outside.
Hezle users her smoke bombs to provide cover while she heals herself and Rocco falls back to the treeline to regroup with Zol and Oan.
The sabosans attack as the last of the swampseers falls, and as they distract the party Hezle makes a run for the trees. She manages to escape before the party can stop her. The sabosans fall relatively quickly. Tracking Hezle to just inside the trees, the party realizes they cannot catch up to her, so they return to the camp to finish off any remaining survivors and then deal with the dragon pillar.
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We ended there, with the party certain that some Cinderclaws remain as they never actually entered the barracks. They also need to deal with the pillar, but having encountered them before they should be better prepared.
I love this thread.
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Session fourteen was last night and lasted five and a half hours.
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Returning to the mine, the party decides to check out the interior of the barracks. On the way, jack gets a good look at the remains of the mokele-mbembe. Seeing its chopped-up body enrages Jack, as this magnificent creature was truly one of nature’s greatest gifts to the world. As the other party members cautiously approach the barracks, Jack charges in, hoping to find some more cultists to destroy in order to avenge the mokele-mbembe.
Luckily for Jack, he spots a charau-ka attempting to hide on the roof, waiting for the party to approach. Jack casts jump and leaps onto the roof to attack. As Jack engages three charau-ka butchers on the roof, Oan attempts to support him with his hatchet. He fails his attack badly and his hatchet goes flying off into the trees (Oan really isn’t much use if he cannot get up close and personal). Chiana also supports Jack with her bow, wounding one of the would-be rooftop ambushers. Zol and Rocco circle around to the west, hoping to get line of sight into the barracks without directly exposing themselves to danger. It’s a good thing they did, too, as two more charau-ka and two boggards exit the barracks and rush the party.
The party quickly realizes that these charau-ka are not the pushovers that the previous ones they encounter were, and realize they may be in trouble as they do not have many spells left. The charau-ka are quite proficient with their magical tridents, and become excited when they draw blood from the party, some of them licking the blood off the tines in ecstatic joy.
On the roof of the barracks one charau-ka fails to shove jack off the roof and itself falls off, in a strange echo of the party’s fight against the Bloody Blades in the Goblinblood Woods. Deciding it doesn’t want to engage Jack after all, this charau-ka instead focuses on Vati, Chiana’s emerald boa constrictor. Vati is no match for an enraged charau-ka butcher and is dropped, slowly bleeding out on the jungle floor. Chiana drops her bow and draws her rapier, leaping to defend her dying companion.
Zol critically wounds a charau-ka with a ray of frost, and this charau-ka makes a beeline for Zol and critically wounds him in return. Zol realizes he is grossly outmatched and draws forth Yacumama, commanding it to defend his retreat as he flees towards the smoke pit.
Rocco supports all of his companions, firing arrows with varying efficiency, focusing on the charau-ka chasing Zol across the battlefield.
Oan drops his bow and draws his blade as there are now targets on the ground with whom he can trade blows. While taking some serious damage himself, he does manage to drop two of the charau-ka as they gleefully lick blood off their weapons, not expecting his swift reprisal.
Harriet emerges from the woods, and grabs hold of one of the boggards, clamping down on its leg with her mighty jaws. The boggard is helpless in her grasp, and can only flail at her head with his crude club.
A second charau-ka on the roof does manage to shove Jack off the roof, but since his experience in the Goblinblood Woods, Jack has taken time to train his body accordingly, and his quick reflexes enable him to fall with cat-like grace, and he lands on his feet unharmed. He heals the fallen Vati, bringing him back from the brink of death, while simultaneously wounding a charau-ka engaging Oan.
One by one the cultists are dropped, including another charau-ka and boggard inside the barracks, with the charau-ka that Chiana badly wounded attempting to flee, dripping blood as it frantically tries to escape. Harriet runs it down, however, and it surrenders as she grabs it in her jaws. Seeing this, Jack walks over, patting Harriet on the head for her courage, and she releases the charau-ka into Jack’s grasp. Jack drags his prisoner over to the smoke pit and throws it onto the burning embers, holding it down with his foot as it slowly roasts to death. Jack remains wordless as Chiana asks him what he is doing, slightly concerned by the crazed look in his eyes.
Once his prisoner is immolated, Jack drags the bodies of the remaining cultitts to the pit and throws them into the fire as well. He then strides over to the corpse of the mokele-mbembe, and begins the rite of sky burial for it. Silence descends on the jungle as many animals emerge from the trees, descending on the corpse of the fallen reptile. The animals consume the corpse as Jack stands by, arms raised in the air, willing the soul of the mokele-mbembe to find peace in death. Harriet does not partake, but sits by Jack, observing the ritual in silence, somehow understanding the solemnity of the situation. The rest of the party watches in fascination for a moment, then go about healing themselves and collecting the dropped tridents, which Zol discovers are all magical.
With the party all wounded, they decide to rest for the night to recover, and will deal with the dragon pillar the following day. As they rest in the jungle that night, during Chiana’s watch she has a strange experience. Her keen elven eyes spot a shadow in the trees, and she is able to make out the vague form of a mokele-mbembe. Startled, she moves to awaken her companions, but before she can do so, the beast looks in her direction. Its eyes flash for a moment, and she shakes her head, not sure of what she has seen. When she looks back the creature is gone, almost as if it had never been there. She hears Jack sigh deeply and roll over in his sleep, a strange smile on his face. The rest of the night passes uneventfully.
In the morning Flash (Chiana’s magical bloodhound statue) and Corvus return, having been tasked the previous day with tracking Hezle after she fled into the trees. Corvus was distracted by various things in the jungle and soon forgot about his quarry, but the faithful Flash was able to track Hezle east to a tributary of the river, where he lost the trail.
Now that they are rested, the party needs to deal with the dragon pillar at the bottom of the mine. They return to the mine yet again, and hopefully for the last time. Not exactly sure of what the pillar’s powers can do, but wary because of their previous experiences, Jack summons a sprite and tells it to attack, while the party stays out of sight over the rim of the pit. The sprite flies out over the pit and almost instantly is hit with a violet beam of light, dropping out of sight.
They decide their best strategy is to sneak up on the thing somehow, and knock it over, as Oan did to the green dragon pillar. They decide that once again magic is the solution, so Jack casts humanoid form and assumes the form of a charau-ka. Oan hands over his Cinderclaw Gauntlet to complete the disguise, and taking a deep breath, Jack begins the long walk down to the pillar. As he is not instantly struck with a beam of violet light, Jack realizes the disguise has worked.
Jack reaches the pillar and gets a good look at it. He is able to determine that brute force is not the only way to disable it, it could also be done with magic or the right skill with disabling devices. However, Jack has other plans and casts a spell, channeling the spirit of the fallen mokele-mbembe, transforming his body into it, and he effortlessly knocks the pillar down, then stomps it into dust.
As the party mills about, Rocco notices a shape in the water, and fires an arrow into it, striking whatever is lurking there.
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We ended there with party rolling initiative, and combat will start the following session. They do not yet know what they are facing.
The spell that Jack used to become a mokele-mbembe is one I created myself, and can be found in the Community Created Content thread for Age of Ashes. It is a modified version of dinosaur form. The treatment and killing of the mokele-mbembe so enraged Jack that he will now stop at nothing to avenge it, and woe betide any Cinderclaw he faces his fury. Will the spirit of the mokele-mbembe remain with him after it is avenged? Stay tuned to find out!
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session fifteen was on Saturday and lasted five and a half hours.
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Chaos erupts as multiple strange creatures leave the water. Large reptilian creatures with undulating skin and shifting forms head for Rocco, causing him to fall back. Native to the plane known as the Maelstrom, these are a type of protean known as naunets. Oan charges to the attack and finds himself entangled by one of the thing’s tails. Yet more creatures emerge, this time smaller worm-like things; two of these voidworms slither towards Rocco and two others fly up to the path leading down from the rim of the mine to engage Chiana. From high up on the rim of the mine, Jack and Zol cast spells down into the melee.
The fight against the proteans is a tough one, but the party prevails in the end. Highlights include Oan’s futile struggle to escape the naunet’s grasp, before giving up and simply hammering it with his fist. Finding the jump spell useful once again, Jack leaps down from the rim of the pit, only to leap back up in several bounds as his foe escapes via dimension door. Outflanked by the naunet hounded by Jack, Zol leapt from the edge rather than face its wrath up close. His fall was less than graceful however, and his viper statue Yacumama landed atop him when the naunet shoved it over the edge.
Once the dust settles Rocco finds the nuggets of gold in the water, as well as the holy prayer beads the dead charau-ka is clutching as it floats in the fetid water. Satisfied that they have eliminated the mine as a source of income for the Cinderclaws they head east to follow Hezle’s trail.
Once again Oan crafts a crude raft and the party floats downstream, searching for signs of Hezle exiting the water as they go. Heading south on a tributary and then west as it joins the larger river, the party comes across a clearing with several dead trees, apparently felled by lightning. Here they discover the yellow-headed dragon pillar.
Taking cover amongst the trees as they approach, the party manages to close the gap to the pillar as it shoots bolts of electricity at them. They attempt to knock it over, but its sturdy construction prevents this from happening. Eventually the pillar is disabled with dispel magic, and the party sets upon it with tools to take it apart. Satisfied that they are making progress, they once again set out on the river to find Hezle.
Several miles downstream the next day, they come across an unusual sight. A large blonde man is shouting across the water to a pair of giants, apparently in conversation with them. He holds in his hand a sack, and in the other pulls out several coins while gesturing towards the main body of the river about a mile away. In the water is a two-headed humanoid, as big as the giants themselves, though it is paying no mind to the man and instead is just sitting in the water, alternating splashing one head and then the other while the heads glare at each other and bicker. Atop a large rock by the water an enormous white wolf dozes in the sun.
The man is Lluthneg, an Ulfen warrior from far to the north. He has made his way to the jungle to hunt a fierce monster known only as the “river devil.” Believing his prey to be living in this part of the river, he would be welcomed home a hero were he to bring its head to his village. Little does he know the stories he heard of this creature were made up by his fellow warriors that were tired of his ceaseless boasting. When Lluthneg left his village to pursue it, they were equal parts amused and impressed that he was actually attempting this fool’s errand. The dire wolf is his faithful companion, Hexfur, and defends Lluthneg to the death. The giants are Jobarg and Kethor, a pair of brothers that have been wandering the jungle for days after being banished from the employ of a wizard they managed to anger with their stupidity. Not being native to the area, they are struggling to survive on their own. The ettin is Munch and Grumble, a simple creature that does whatever Jobarg and Kethor direct it to do; usually this involves hitting things until they stop moving. Munch and Grumble wasn’t sent away by the wizard, but instead followed the brothers as it always does.
Able to understand the Jotun language, Oan eavesdrops on this negotiation. Critically failing his attempt to discern info about Lluthneg, he thinks the warrior is a slaver and the giants are his prisoners. He is wrong, of course, but this is of no consequence as Chiana casts message to communicate with Lluthneg. She asks him what he is doing, and he turns to see only Zol standing there as everyone is able to hide behind cover. When Zol doesn’t immediately flee, Lluthneg tells the giants that he will give them all the coins in the sack to kill the ancient elf.
Munch and Grumble stands up and rushes to attack as Rocco fires arrows from behind the cover of a tree. Oan advances to the left and takes cover behind some rocks as the giants hurl stones from across the water with terrifying accuracy. Lluthneg fires arrows at Rocco and jack and Chiana also duck behind some trees. Munch and Grumble barely gets within striking range before being brought down by several arrows from Rocco and a fierce attack from Harriet, who leaps up and takes Munch’s throat in her jaws while simultaneously raking Grumble’s face with her hind claws.
Hexfur rushes to attack, but barely only succeeds in charging right into Oan’s fury and is quickly cut down. The death of his dire wolf drives lluthneg into a rage, and he draws forth a huge axe, charing towards Oan to avenge his fallen wolf. While he scores some blows, it is not enough and focus fire from the party soon brings him down. Being the only ones left, with one taking persistent acid damage from Jack’s acid arrow, the giants decide they cannot overcome the heroes and flee into the jungle. Oan and Jack promptly skin Hexfur for his fine white coat and also remove several of his fangs.
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We ended the session there. I asked the group if they were getting tired of the combat, but they seem to be liking it so far. I suppose it helps that when fights break out I play the jungle theme from Syrinscape, and I find several of the players bobbing their heads to the drumbeat as the other players take their turn. They're now halfway done with destroying the dragon pillars, and I suspect in the next session they will find the Fortress of Sorrow. They're a level shy of where they should be when assaulting it, but they do have a fifth PC, so I think it might be a wash. Their fights thus far have ranged from cakewalk to almost disaster, so I think I am challenging them appropriately.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos. Though I have used them in the past, this is the first time I used an animated map for book two as one of my newer players commented on how cool it is. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is for immersion, especially when combined with Syrinscape.
I envious your gaming setup, i wish i had one like that when my party resumes our live sessions.
Hey Fumarole I'm really jealous of your gaming table.
Where did you get a table like that and what did it cost you? We're looking to buy a condo and we'd like to get a table like that in the gaming room.
Thanks !
It's the Elite model (4 x 6 feet) from Table of Ultimate Gaming. They went out of business shortly after I bought it last summer; I may have received one of the last ones in their inventory. I spent about $1400 on it, including the toppers. When gaming, I remove the two middle toppers and put a 40" TV there, connected to my laptop. I also have a 40" TV mounted vertically on a rolling stand that sits just off to my right, on which I display the initiative order window from Combat Manager. I was going to mount this second TV on the wall behind me on a rotating arm, but my wife's patience for me turning the house into an ultimate gaming den only goes so far, so I compromised with the rolling stand since I can put the TV away when not in use. With a tablecloth on the table it seems like we simply have a very large dining table. You can see the setup here. The table is large enough to sit me and six players comfortably (I take up one entire topper at the end when GMing), or ten people for a meal.
It's the Elite model (4 x 6 feet) from Table of Ultimate Gaming. They went out of business shortly after I bought it last summer; I may have received one of the last ones in their inventory. I spent about $1400 on it, including the toppers. When gaming, I remove the two middle toppers and put a 40" TV there, connected to my laptop. I also have a 40" TV mounted vertically on a rolling stand that sits just off to my right, on which I display the initiative order window from Combat Manager. I was going to mount this second TV on the wall behind me on a rotating arm, but my wife's patience for me turning the house into an ultimate gaming den only goes so far, so I compromised with the rolling stand since I can put the TV away when not in use. With a tablecloth on the table it seems like we simply have a very large dining table. You can see the setup here. The table is large enough to sit me and six players comfortably (I take up one entire topper at the end when GMing), or ten people for a meal.
Very nice, a shame they went out of business! 1400$ was within the price range my girlfriend and I agreed on for a gaming table (She likes virtual maps and tokens but wishes she could print more minis to play with! )
Thanks for the answer!
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Session sixteen was yesterday and lasted five hours.
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Continuing their pursuit of Hezle, the party moves downstream once again. While exploring the jungle, they come across a small stream meandering through the wilderness. A hermit by the name of Ferguntress Phillitter lived in the jungle nearby. She dabbled in magic, and it was this location she chose when an attempt to animate some trees backfired on her. Little did she know that the magic she was attempting was tampered with, as long ago she had managed to anger a vengeful demon. This demon took his vengeance on her decades after the slight to him by altering the formula she had obtained to animate tree guardians for her hermitage. Her magic did animate the trees as she was attempting, but the wood golems she accidentally created were filled with hatred due to the demon’s alterations, and they ended up slaying their creator. The remains of Ferguntress Phillitter lie in the jungle here, pinned underneath a tree fallen over the stream, reduced to little more than bones and bits of cloth. As the party investigates her corpse, the wood golems attack.
The party gets the jump on the golems and leap into action. To his horror, Zol discovers that his magic missile spell is ineffective against these opponents. Though Zol is having trouble with his magic, Jack discovers that his produce flame does far more damage than he expected. When a golem moves up to engage Rocco, he drops his bow and pulls out his axe, though he is far less effective with his axe than he is with his bow. Chiana plinks away with her bow, but doesn’t do much damage. Oan, as always, is adept with his sword and gauntlet combo, and moves up to engage with the golem across the stream. Though they take much damage from the golems, it is spread out amongst the party, and once they realize that the golems seem to be vulnerable to fire, they are dispatched without too much effort.
Having looked for Hezle’s tracks for days, the party begins to realize they may have missed signs of when she left the river. They decide to head back to Akrivel to re-equip and seek the advice of the elves on how to proceed. They also suspect that their efforts so far in destroying the pillars may have had a visible effect for the elves. Along the way they continue to search the jingle for pillars, but find nothing else along the way. Zol manages to contract dysentery as they travel, but is able to recover quickly.
Back in Akrivel, Nketiah informs them that the blindness that affects the elves when they travel east is still in place, and that time is starting to run out. The elves do not seem to be entirely confident that the party will succeed, as they are seen making preparations to move their entire clan to the west, away from the influence of the Cinderclaws. The party spends some time with the smith of the clan, transferring runes from the tridents taken from the charau-ka butchers and putting them on weapons better suited to their purposes.
Having recuperated from their travels so far, the party heads east into the jungle once more, knowing that time is getting short for them to accomplish their goals. Soon they come across a campsite, with a dragon pillar at the far side. Hiding behind the opillar they see a strange creature that appears to be some sort of combination of charu-ka and dragon. Zol is immediately struck blind by the pillar, and the strange creature charges the party. Jack promptly disables the pillar with dispel magic as Oan and Harriet fight the creature. Harriet grabs its wing in her jaws, but it manages to escape and breathe a cone of fire on the party. Chiana sneaks around the fight, attempting to get close to the pillar to see if any more creatures are lurking within the tents. Rocco grows in size when jack cats enlarge on him, and he engages the creature with his axe. Meanwhile Zol, upset at being ineffective in recent engagements, sits in the dirt in a huff.
Though it puts up a reasonable fight, without the pillar to support it the half-dragon half-charau-ka creature is slain, due in part to Zol re-engaging once his sight returns to him. Examining its corpse, Zol determines that this creature is the result of an unholy sexual union of charau-ka and dragons, though the exact logistics of this puzzle him. After camping for the night and thinking on it some more, he realizes his initial assessment was in error, and this creature is the result of transmutation magic, utilized with dragon’s blood.
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That's where we stopped for the day, and I suspect in the next session the party will find the Fortress of Sorrow. With the knowledge that there are Spawns of Dahak about (they they do not know them by this name) the party is concerned they will face more of them in the future. I am hoping this knowledge that they are created with the blood of dragons (not strictly by the book, of course) the party will free Kyrion when they encounter him. However, I suspect they will slay him on sight after dealing with Belmazog. Time will tell, but given the running gag that this party (jack in particular) hates kobolds, I suspect this will apply to dragons as well. I plan on having Hezle at Belmazog's side for this fight since she escaped the mine. Maybe I will throw in some comments from her about Kyrion being a victim of the cult, in case the party somehow misses it when I describe the room when they first enter.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session seventeen was yesterday and last four hours.
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Days later in the jungle, the party discovers the pillar guarded by the dominated grippli. Zol quickly realizes the grippli are not acting under their own will, and are likely controlled by the pillar. The grippli fire arrows with great accuracy at Jack, hammering him again and again. Oan rushes the grippli spellcaster as Rocco fires arrows back and Harriet charges around the flank. Chiana tries to talk to the grippli, asking them not to fight, but her words go unheeded.
Trying to avoid killing the cute little frogfolk, the party focuses on disabling the pillar. Harriet, being a large cat, sees a small creature and leaps to attack. She savages one of the grippli archers until it is nothing but a bloody mess, causing the others to move away from her while firing arrows at the party. Oan trips the grippli spellcaster and intends to keep him out of the fight without killing him.
Jack disables the pillar with dispel magic, but this doesn’t break the pillar’s magical hold over the hapless grippli, so the party starts trying to destroy it to free the frogfolk. The gripple are still fighting back, and the spellcast that Oan tripped casts entangle and Jack counters by casting enlarge on Oan and haste on Rocco. Eventually the party manages to destroy the pillar, freeing the grippli from its control, who then immediately drop their weapons and flee into the jungle.
Weeks more of travel happens in the jungle, with the party moving steadily south across the river. After days of traveling in increasingly swampy terrain Zol contracts dysentery and malaria, and is weakened for many days while the diseases ravage his body. Since he picked up an alchemy kit on the return trip to Akrivel, Jack has been spending his night at the campfire crafting elixirs of antiplague, and Zol has been consuming them faster than Jack can create them. The party has to spend an entire day simply recuperating from fatigue as the long exposure to many weeks of heat and humidity have finally taken their toll on them.
With Zol still trying to recover from his diseases, the party comes across another dragon pillar, this one at the edge of the swamp. This pillar, like so many before it, is also disabled via dispel magic, but unbeknownst to the party, it has some defenders lying in ambush. As the party advances to destroy the pillar, they are ambushed by a group of biloko. Springing their ambush from inside fallen logs and a hollowed-out tree, the biloko attack the party with spears and bites from their terrible crocodilian jaws. Though Harriet is wounded severely and is forced to flee the battle, the party manages to dispatch the biloko without too much trouble. This encounter has a terrible effect on Harriet, and she is jumpy for a while after, having come close to death once again in the presence of these strange humanoids.
After more days of travel, this time heading west, the party comes across another ruined temple in the jungle. Chiana pulls up the hood on her cloak of elvenkind, sneaking into the fortress to investigate the strange, pulsating red glow they see through the cracks and holes in the temple’s walls. With the party hanging back out of sight beyond the temple grounds, Chiana finds the last dragon pillar, this one topped with a red skull. Coiled up nearby is a huge half-snake half-dragon creature, known as a bida. Chiana immediately tells the party about the pillar and the creature with message, and they move stealthily into position to attack.
At least they attempt to. Rocco is able to move into a good firing position without being seen, but Jack unfortunately is not. The pillar immediately fires a red beam at him, burning him, but not too badly. Chaos erupts as Oan moves into position at a corner of the temple, Rocco firing arrows at the bida as Zol moves into position to cast his spells. Oan is bitten by the bida several times, doing massive damage with its jaws, though he is able to dodge attacks from its tail. Chiana moves behind the creature and attacks with her rapier, but her attacks are mostly ineffectual. Jack manages to disable the final pillar with dispel magic, so the party only has to deal with the huge creature currently engaged with Oan and Chiana. Harriet, traumatized by her earlier encounter with the bilokos, hangs back outside of the temple grounds, too scared to get any closer.
Corvus flies down to flank it, and Chiana ends up grabbed by the thing's tail. Zol lets loose his usual barrage of magic missiles and Rocco does what he does best, fire arrows and hit his target more often than not. Oan is hit badly, and brought near to death, but the superior numbers of the party bring the bida to the same condition. As it attempts to flee with Chiana grasped in its tail, Oan seizes the opportunity to deliver a deadly blow with his sword, almost cutting the creature in twain. Jack immediately sets about removing several fangs from the creature’s mouth as Rocco and Chiana find the creature’s meagre hoard and divvy it up. Oan wanders about the temple, discovering that it was once dedicated to Dahak.
After recovering from their latest fight, Zol is finally able to shake off the last effects of dysentery, and it was good timing too, for on the morning of their fifty fourth day in the jungle, the party sees their object to the west across about a mile of open swampland - the Fortress of Sorrow.
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We ended there, and the party will level advance to 8th level before they tackle the last part of book two of Age of Ashes. I haven't scaled many encounters for a six-person party yet, so the party has been having a mostly easy time of it (three fights in four hours today). That will change for the rest of the book though, as Hezle has reinforced Belmazog and the patrols that couldn't find the party will be in the fortress beefing up its defenses. This should be a good challenge for them, though I am going to make sure they have access to some healing potions before encountering what waits inside the front door.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session eighteen was yesterday and lasted six hours.
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Jack casts familiar’s face and sends Corvus into the sky to scout the fortress. Through Corvus’ eyes he spots the boggard sentries outside the fortress and sees that there are plenty of gaps in the picket line, and that they could slip through undetected if they’re lucky. Not excited at the prospect of swimming through the swamp, they fall back a ways into the jungle and Oan sets about felling some trees to make a raft for them. Shortly before dawn the next day, the party sets out. Telling Jack that this place smells wrong to her, Harriet stays behind in the jungle, not willing to cross the swamp to face the evil within.
Slipping silently through the water, Chiana pilots the makeshift boat through the swamp with ease. As they approach the fortress, Rocco and Oan spot a huge shape in the water, but Chiana is able to pilot them around and the shape moves off. Whatever it was, it did not detect the party. This day the boggard sentries are as disorganized as the day before, and the craft bearing the party slips through them effortlessly, and soon the party is at the crude wooden gate.
Vati swims up to the gate and , pressing his large body up against it, is able to push it open wide enough for the party to slip inside. The party enters the fortress and is greeted with the site of hundreds of crude wooden spikes sticking out of the walls, carved to look like dragon’s teeth. Facing the entryway is a large statue made of the same red clay the fortress is composed of, a half-man half-dragon figure towering over the party. As Rocco and Oan investigate the statue, it comes to life and attacks. Thinking quickly, Oan raises a hand in salute to the statue, the hand wearing the Cinderclaw gauntlet, attempting to fool the thing into thinking he is part of the cult. Unfortunately for the party the ruse does not work, and a fight begins.
The creature’s fists strike mighty blows against the party, and they valiantly hack away at it, but find that their blows don’t do as much damage to the thing as they should. Zol cats produce flame at it to no effect. Horrified that his magical powers seem to not even concern the thing, he retreats back to the gate, staying away from its swinging fists. Corvus pecks at it but the thing grabs Corvus by the neck. Oan and Vati flank it, both chipping away slowly. Rocco’s arrows all go wide of their mark as Rocco is not used to firing in such close quarters.
Vati manages to wrap himself around the creature, holding it in place just as Zol realizes that this is a clay golem, and while most magic won’t work against it, cold magic will. Zol shouts this to the party, and Jack blasts it with a ray of frost. Finally doing some real damage, the party gets eager, but that is soon dashed as the golem beats Vati into unconsciousness. Freed from the snake’s grasp, the golem strides up to Jack and mercilessly beats him. Alas, the attrition being inflicted on the golem is finally enough to bring it down as Oan hacks at it from behind. Taking a moment to heal up their wounds, Jack is horrified to learn that his magic doesn’t always work to heal him, and the same applies to Corvus and Vati. It seems the golem’s magical fists have inflicted cursed wounds on the three of them, grave news if the party intends to push deeper into the fortress.
Impatient to advance further into the fortress, Rocco opens the door on the far right side of of the entry hall, and discovers the fortress’ barracks, with a number of charau-ka and boggards arming themselves to fight the intruders they obviously heard fighting in the entry hall. The boggards cast many spells from the rear of the room, but not a single one of them lands, though the charau-ka are fierce warriors and inflict some damage on Rocco with their tridents. This fight is ultimately not much of a threat to the party, however, and the foes are put down, though not before one of the boggards croaks loudly, its hoarse sounds echoing throughout the fortress. The party now knows that the rest of the defenders in the fortress will know that they are here.
Continuing through the fortress widdershins, Chiana leads the party through the barracks to open the door at the rear of the room: a door one of the boggards was running for before being brought down by one of Rocco’s arrows. Quietly opening the door, she sees the room beyond is a kitchen. Dozing by the fire (which is actually molten rock) at the rear of the room is a large hound, the largest she’s ever seen. She signals to Jack, who creeps to and instantly knows what is before him: a Nessian warhound, said to be raised in Hell by the Prince of Darkness himself. Thinking quickly, Jack goes back into the previous room and hacks off a boggard leg with his hatchet. Jack slowly approaches the hound, speaking gently to it, holding the boggard leg in front of him. It seems Jack has learned from the party’s mistakes in the past, as the hound realizes the party does not wish it harm, and the hound grabs some more meat offered by Jack and rushes past the party towards the exit. Before it flees the fortress, the hound stops and gives one last glance back at Jack, then disappears into the swamp.
The party presses on once again, this time circling around the rear of the fortress to head along the western wall back towards the entryway. Once again Chiana stealthily opens the door before them, this time seeing two creatures in the room beyond, which appears to be a forge as there are multiple anvils and metalworking equipment, while a trough of molten rock is at the base of the west wall. The party has seen creatures like these before in the jungle, these are half-charau-ka half-dragons that the party has come to call Spawn of Dahak. Chiana signals to Zol, who steps up to the door, ready to blast a bolt of lightning down the hallway. Zol makes a mistake however, and the spawn detect him before he can act.
The party is in a bad position, all bunched up just beyond the doorway, with their frail elderly wizard right front. Both spawn rush the door and breathe cones of fire, washing the entire party in flames. Zol is immediately dropped by the first blast, and the second torches him even more. The others are burnt, but not too badly, and Chiana manages to dodge the flames entirely. Jack manages to heal Zol with a potion as Oan trades blows with the foremost spawn through the doorway. Rocco’s arrows zip by the party, finding their home in the spawn and dealing tremendous damage. China cracks her whip from behind Oan as both Corvus and Vati hang back, out of range of the fiery breath as they’d just be in the way with their large bodies.
Having come close to death, Zol leaps up and runs for the back of the kitchen to escape the spawn. One of the spawn dips its warhammer into the molten rock as it swings at Oan, though his ring of fire resistance helps him avoid the damage. Eventually the spawn are brought down with blows from weapons as well as Jack's magic, and the party has a moment to catch their breath. Assessing their wounds after the fight is over, they are all hurt, with Jack, Corvus and Vati still having cursed wounds. Realizing they haven’t found the inner chamber of this fortress yet, the party tries to decide what their next steps should be: press on in their tattered condition or retreat back to the jungle to recuperate?
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That's where we stopped, with the party in bad shape. Jack, Corvus and Vati are all hurt and have cursed wounds that can only be healed magically, and even then it is not a guarantee. Zol and Vati are both wounded 1, having come close to death. The rest of the party is also hurt, though not as severely.
Avoiding a fight with Izolith the Nessian warhound was a boon for the party (letting the druid speak to animals and beasts before attacking is a lesson they learned back in book 1 of the adventure after almost being TPKed by the giant bat), though sneaking into the fortress was perhaps not. I gave the boggard sentries each a healing potion in anticipation of the golem inflicting cursed wounds on the party, but they do not have those resources as the boggards were not encountered. If the party tries to flee, however, they will encounter the boggards as well as Sweettooth, as the alarm was raised when the party entered the barracks.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session nineteen was Sunday and lasted five and a half hours.
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The party decides they cannot press on in their current condition, they head back to their boat, planning on returning to the jungle to camp and deal with their cursed wounds. In the entry chamber to the Fortress of Sorrows they find several boggards milling about, and two more rowing their makeshift boat back into the swamp. It looks like the party will need to fight their way out of the fortress.
Zol opens with a well-placed fireball, critically wounding three of the boggards. Jack drops one with ray of frost and Rocco drops another with an arrow. The other two in the fortress are also killed, but not before they gulp down healing potions and try to flee, only to die tired at the hands of the party. The two boggards in the boat dive into the water as they realize they cannot face the might of the heroes, even as bedraggled as they are. As the party stands at the gate to the fortress, trying to figure out what to do, they see the dark shape in the water from earlier in the day. It swims up to a boggard that is swimming furiously away with an arrow in its back. After a violent splash of water followed with eerie silence, the party realizes that the beast in the water has done part of the job for them, swallowing the boggard whole. The other boggard is nowhere to be found, no doubt having swam for its life in the opposite direction.
Deciding they have little chance to recover their boat with the best lurking nearby, Jack has Corvus fly out over the swamp to the west, dropping boggard bodies in a trail leading away from the fortress. The beast takes the bait, and soon enough is far away enough for the party to feel a momentary sense of peace. Vati swims out to the boat and pushes it back to the fortress, and the weary party climbs aboard. Chiana stealthily pilots them back through the swamp towards the jungle to the east.
Back on dry land and out of immediate danger, Jack sets about seeing to the wounds of everyone, paying special attention to the cursed wounds he and the animals have suffered. Using the last of the magical resources, the party manages to heal up enough to feel safe camping in the jungle once more. While Jack is playing doctor, Chiana comforts her poor wounded Vati and Zol studies his spellbook. Rocco goes about building a camp for the night, with Oan assisting as best he can (not very much).
In the wee hours of the morning, while Jack is perched in a tree watching over the party as they sleep, a charau-ka dragon priest and two elokos ambush the party. Poor Jack must be dozing, as the first he realises something is wrong is when a fireball explodes in the midst of the sleeping heroes. The elokos attack with blowguns, and while Oan is not affected, Zol quickly becomes poisoned. Furious at this latest insult on what has turned out to be a very bad day, Zol unleashes all his might by casting magic missile, but unfortunately for him the priest is protected by shield.
Oan charges the nearest eloko and Rocco fires arrows at the other. The priest rushes forward and stabs Zol with his sword. In retaliation Zol heals himself by draining the life from the priest with vampiric touch. Much to his dismay, the priest immediately does the same, casting vampiric touch to drain the very life from Zol that was itself taken from the priest moments before.
The second eloko enlarges himself to an enormous size, towering over Chiana and Vati and they rush to assist Zol. The ambush by the Cinderclaws is soon ended, however, and Oan handily takes care of his foe and the huge eloko and priest are slain soon after. Though the attack was ultimately unsuccessful, it does let the party know that the cult is not going to let them sleep easily after assaulting their home.
In the morning, having fully recovered from their wounds received the previous day, the party sets out for the fortress once more, intent on ending the cult of cinders once and for all. Chiana again pilots the boat through the swamp, and this time there is no sign of the beast in the water.
Passing through the entryway, the party passes through the center pair of doors into the sanctum entrance. Taking note of the carvings of dragons on the walls and immense fossilized bones supporting the ceiling, Rocco opens the door in the far side of the room to continue the party’s advance. Or at least he tries to. The moment he touches the door, he is assaulted by the vision of Dahak, his head emerging from the door to consume Rocco’s soul via phantasmal killer. Not understanding what is happening to Rocco, the rest of the party mills about the room, unsure of what to do. After suffering a second mental assault Rocco stumbles away, leaving Jack in the path of the magical hazard. Experiencing it firsthand, Jack realizes what is happening and casts dispel magic on the door, disabling the hazard. The party continues on, Rocco very much happy to let someone else take point from now on.
The next room is empty, with nothing but more wall carvings of dragons burning elven villages to cinders to interest the party. Chiana sneaks up to the next set of doors and carefully peers through. What she sees startles her, and she immediately closes the door quietly. In the room beyond are two chimeras, creatures equal parts dragon, lion and goat.
The party stops in their tracks and spends some time deciding what to do, ultimately deciding on luring them out into an ambush in the entryway to the fortress. With the rest of the party in position, Oan opens the door and starts yelling at the nearest chimera, doing his best to impersonate a member of the cult. He then turns and walks back towards the entrance, hoping to lure the creatures to their doom.
The chimeras do give chase, but not in the friendly way Oan had hoped. A fight breaks out, and the party once again finds themselves awash in fiery breath. Zol blasts the beasts with lightning bolt and Chiana and Vato pair up to strike with rapier and fangs. Across the room Rocco fires arrows, and even drops his bow to draw his axe and get up close and personal with the creatures. Jack supports from afar, blasting with spells and Corvus gets into the mix as well. The chimeras find themselves surrounded in the entry room, and though they strike many blows with three heads each, they cannot last for long while surrounded on all sides by the party. The party slays the beasts, having received some fair amount of damage themselves, and are now poised to enter the inner sanctum of the Fortress of Sorrows.
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We ended there, with only the final boss battle remaining. Due to there being five PCs, I have added Hezle (who escaped from the mine attack) and one boggard swampseer to the final encounter. This keeps the encounter at severe for five PCs. Hopefully this isn't overkill, but the party isn't too hurt currently. If they do try to rest one more time before coming back I am considering having Belmazog further boost her defenses, probably by creating another Wrath of the Destroyer (or maybe two), this time on a different door. That'll keep the party on their toes.
One fun thing in this session was the party's concern at the chimeras (a moderate encounter for four PCs, and they had five). They spent an awful lot of time determining how to handle it, and to their credit their plan worked quite well. They're really starting to click as a team (especially the new players).
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session twenty was yesterday and lasted four hours, all of it a single combat. The combat lasted nine rounds, the longest of the campaign so far.
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Chiana sneaks up to the door to the inner chamber and opens it stealthily to see what is inside. What she sees captivates her attention: a cascade of molten gold, pouring from the mouth of an enormous fossilized dragon’s skull and filling a pool in the center of the chamber. There is also a red dragon being sacrificed on an altar by the head of the Cinderclaws and her top lieutenants, but that’s not important to her at the moment.
Spotting her in the doorway, the half-boggard half-dragon leader of the cult, Belmazog, stops conducting the ceremony and shouts to her minions “They’re here! Stop them!” One of the two charau-ka dragon priests in the chamber immediately leaps into action, casting ray of enfeeblement on Chiana, but she shrugs it off, barely noticing she is being attacked as her eyes are fixated on the pool of molten gold.
Dragging her attention away from the liquid gold, Chiana pulls out the blowgun that she took from the body of one of the elokos and fires a dart into the dragon priest that cast the spell at her. She strikes true and the poison in the dart starts working its way though its system. A fireball hurled by the other dragon priest flies past Chiana and explodes in the room behind her, scorching most of the party. The boggard swampseer standing by the altar moves into a better position to see through the doorway and casts acid arrow at Zol but misses. Zol retaliates by blasting the boggard with ray of frost.
With two foes lined up perfectly, Jack unleashes a lightning bolt, blasting the boggard into oblivion and seriously hurting the poisoned dragon priest. A second fireball erupts among the party, this time from Belmazog, and she confidently advances towards the party, furious at the interruption in her ritual. Suddenly, Oan charges into the room, narrowly dodging a blast of fire from the dragon skull looming over the room, and hacks into the dragon priest that has drawn so much ire from the party. Rocco fires arrows into the room, one of which fires its mark in the dragon priest. The dragon priest retreats a ways, realizing it is on its own in the front line. In the back of the room, the kobold alchemist Hezle fires her crossbow at Oan and Chiana, scoring hits and afflicting then both with wyvern poison.
Seeing an opportunity, Oan advances to Belmazog and shoves her backward. She trips over the stone rim of the pool and falls backward into the molten gold, disappearing under the surface as she screams out in pain. Oan advances after her, standing on the rim of the pool, ready to strike her again should she surface. Formulating a plan, Chiana advances to the dragon and pulls out her chime of opening, striking it once. One of the chains holding the dragon in place dissolves and Chiana knows that if she can free the dragon it will almost certainly be able to destroy the cultists on its own. She hopes it does not then turn its fury on the party, as red dragons are not known for their kindness.
A dragon priest advances on Chiana, striking her with its sword to try and prevent her from freeing the dragon. Being immune to fire, the other leaps into the molten gold to assist Belmazog as she begins to burn terribly. Rocco continues to fire arrows from the doorway and Jack supports by casting spells at the dragon priests, while ducking crossbow bolts fired at him by Hezle. Zol also hangs back, badly burned by the two fireballs, and casts spells at Hezle and the dragon priests.
Before Chiana can manage to completely free the dragon, she succumbs to the poison and drops to the ground, dying. Belmazog tries to rise to escape the molten gold. But Oan strikes her down once again, knocking her back under the surface, Eventually she manages to rise and escape the pool, but not before suffering greatly from burns. Seeing Chiana down and out, Oan realizes that freeing the dragon is their best bet, so he strikes at one of the two remaining chains and severs it with two mighty blows.
Jack casts mokele-mbembe form on himself, changing his body into the shape of the huge beast, and advances on Belmazog to thrash her with tooth and tail. Rocco grabs the chime and strikes it, freeing the dragon. Kyrion immediately leaps into action, roaring Belmazog name as he strikes her with claw and wing, enraged at his treatment by her over the last few weeks of his imprisonment. With the way clear, Rocco rushes forward to grab Chiana and drag her out of harm’s way. Having been blasted with bolts of fire from the skull since he has entered the inner sanctum, Oan staggers out of the room before succumbing to the poison and he falls, never to rise again.
Zol casts wall of wind to surround Helze with a barrier to prevent her from being able to target anyone with her crossbow, rendering her impotent unless she advances on the party or moves towards the dragon. She decides not to though, as she sees Kyrion bite down on Belmazog as she tries to heal herself, severing her body in two. Belmazog’s lower half twitches and falls to the chamber floor. Hezle runs for it, trying to escape the chamber before she too falls to the party. The last remaining dragon priest falls back but is unable to stave off an assault as the dragon pursues it across the chamber, and soon Hezle is alone in this chamber full of foes. Zol then casts dimension door to transport himself into the circle of wind, thinking it would protect him from attack, bringing Corvus along with him. Kyrion flies to Hezle as she attempts to flee but stays his wrath as she cowers on the floor pathetically, whimpering for mercy. Kyrion instead flies to the dragon skull and sets about destroying it, but not before it fells Zol with one last blast of fire. Deciding the kobold gets no mercy from him, Jack blasts Hezle with acid arrow and orders Corvus to also kill her. Eventually Hezle is slain by Rocco, her cries for mercy going unheeded by Jack and Rocco, who are furious that three of their compatriots have fallen.
Jack checks on Zol and finds that he is unconscious but alive, if only just. Having spent much of his life around death, Rocco sees that Oan is beyond help, having succumbed to the wyvern poison on Hezle’s bolts. Chiana is also dead, but as Rocco kneels over her corpse grieving, suddenly he is startled as she takes a sharp intake of breath and opens her eyes. What Rocco sees there through the tears in his eyes chills him to the bone. Her pupils have been replaced by swirling comets, the symbol of the Lady of Graves, the goddess of death and rebirth: Pharasma.
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That's where we ended, with the first PC death in this campaign. Strictly speaking both Chiana and Oan died, but since Rocco's player used a Plot Twist card (Hidden Asset - An ally appears from nowhere) I ran it as Pharasma intervening for Chiana as described in the italicized text below (which I sent to her player separately via email). The players have been using Plot Twists quite frequently (all eleven they had available were used in this session, with the one saving Chiana from death being the last one played) but unlike when I started this thread, I haven't been spelling out their use mechanically in my posts, I've been instead incorporating it into the story.
Oan's player was given a similar option as Chiana when he died a round or two later, but decided to let chance decide. He rolled a die and it came up Death, so that's how we played it. He will roll up a new character that will be back in Breachill when the party returns home.
I realize that by RAW the chime of opening shouldn't help free Kyrion, but Chiana's player surprised me with that move, and it was just too cool to not have happen so I decided to roll with it.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Chiana finds herself on a black sand beach, the sand and dark water stretching as far as she can see. Though there is no visible source anywhere, this strange landscape is lit as if it were twilight, that wonderful time between day and night. Chiana has always felt most comfortable during this time as the deepening shadows meant she would be able to go about her business unseen. No stars illuminate the sky and the only sound is the gentle sussuration of small waves gently lapping at the shore. After an indeterminable amount of time, Chiana feels something, a presence, and turns around. Though not there a moment before, in front of her stands an ashen-skinned Garundi woman with white eyes. She wears a dark, hooded, robe-like dress and holds an hourglass filled with red sand. The hourglass has run its course, all the sand resting at the bottom.
“Your time has not yet come” the woman says in a gentle voice, “I have need of you.” Chiana knows that she now stands in the place between life and death, and that she is being offered a choice: to continue on, having died in the Fortress of Sorrow with her soul passing into the Boneyard for judgement, or she can become a servant of this woman, whom she instinctively knows is the goddess Pharasma, the Gray Lady. Feeling she has unfinished business in the Material Plane, Chiana responds. “Life.” Pharasma nods, and as her vision begins to fade away Chiana sees the sand in the hourglass held by Pharasma start flowing upward.
Chiana opens her eyes to see a tearful Rocco kneeling over her, eyes wide in amazement, the roof of the Fortress of Sorrow high above.
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Session twenty one was last Saturday and lasted four and a half hours.
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Jack revives Zol with a healing potion, and the party sets about examining the inner sanctum. With the fortress starting to shake, they realize they do not have too much time before it will apparently collapse, so they decide to make quick work of their searches.
Jack casts gentle repose on Oan and the party tries to decide what to do. Kyrion offers to carry Oan to where they need, but their initial request of Akrivel is denied as Kyrion does not believe he would be welcomed in the skies of Akrivel, though he means them no harm. Ultimately it is decided that Kyrion will fly Oan to the Temple of ketephys and await them there.
Limping at first, and then steadily gaining their strength over the next several days, the party returns to Akrivel to report their victory to the Leopard Clan. The elves are extremely grateful and present gifts to the party. Among these gifts is Eclipse, the key to Dreamgate. Saddened by Oan’s death on their behalf, they promise to send a party to Breachill in the future to establish a line of trade as well as something for Oan’s surviving kin.
The next day they arrive at the Temple of Ketephys, and Kyrion is true to his word, guarding Oan’s corpse. Kyrion asks the party where they are from, he too promises to help them in their time of need, after he has had more time to recover from his ordeal.
Entering Huntergate filled with trepidation, the party is surprised to find that the manifestation of Dahak does not appear. Perhaps the destruction of his fossilized remains at the Fortress of Sorrow has tamed this part of his being? If so they do not think it will hold for very long, so they hasten their way through the gate and back to Alseta’s Ring below their home.
They are soon greeted by Tendulkar, whom they come to find has been up to quite a lot in the time they have been gone. In the almost two months they have been gone, the repairs to the citadel are almost complete, with just the outer walls needing repair, and that will be done in a few days. Tendulkar also introduces them to a guest that recently arrived in Breachill, a man named Virgil from Cheliax who was sent to find a deserter from the Imperial Navy.
The party comes to find out that Oan was not the real name of their recently fallen companion, but it is instead Phlegeto Barcado. Upon learning of the death of “Oan” Captain Lavendil tells the party a wake for him will be held at the watchhouse the following day. The party does not tell Captain Lavendil of Oan’s true identity, and the wake is a solemn occasion.
With the citadel nearing completion and soon to return to contributing to defending the town, the town council decides to hold a festival in celebration, to occur on the 1st of Abadius 4720. During the celebrations a pair of goblins win a scavenger hunt put on by the Dreamhouse, Rocco excels at maneuvering across an obstacle course assembled by Fadelby Vusker, Chiana sells some fine Hellknight art she “acquired” from the citadel and Jack triumphs during a pub crawl. The following morning a ceremony is held to re-dedicate the citadel as the Scarlet Keep.
Owing to the enchanted nature of the ale from Cayden’s Keg no one is hung over during the ceremony, but even if they were they would have sobered up quickly when they find the note left pinned to the door of the keep with a dagger. It claims to be from someone who has taken Fadelby Vusker hostage, and entreats the party to come to his shop at dawn, else he will be slain and his shop burned to the ground.
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This was our first session without combat, and I used content from the Community Created Content thread, particularly the Breachill Festival posted by Tikael. Thanks for the great content!
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Session twenty two was yesterday and lasted six hours.
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At Fadelby’s shop, the party (minus Zol, who stayed behind to study his magic) finds a man who presents himself as Heuberk Thropp, and he informs them that Fadelby is alive and will remain so if they act civilly. He tells the party that he is looking for his associate, Voz Lirayne. Thropp tells the party he works for an international shipping company, and offers them a job if they’ll bring him Voz’ notes on Alseta’s Ring. The party rejects his offer and a fight breaks out when Thropp’s muscle slits Fadelby’s throat.
Rocco fights off two rogues outside the shop with his greataxe (and some assistance from Corvus) while the other party members fight Thropp and his goons inside. Even though the rogues manage to shackle Rocco’s wrists and ankles, he still manages to fell them both with his greataxe. Indoors Jack blasts the opponents with cone of cold and lightning bolt, while Virgil stabs them with his swords. Seeing an opportunity to show off her acrobatics, Chiana goes to leap atop the lathe but accidentally sets it off as it was trapped by Thropp’s men. Blades of metal fly all over the room and stab into Chiana, Jack and Virgil, though Thropp’s mirror image protects him from the flying metal. Though they are bleeding badly, the party manages to slay Thropp’s men and force him to cast invisibility and flee. Thinking quickly, Jack casts glitterdust at the doorway where he thinks Thropp is, and he is correct. Unable to hide due to the glitter Thropp fights to the death, which comes swiftly.
Virgil heals Fadelby’s wounds and cuts his bonds as the party surveys the damage to the shop. It is determined that Fadelby is innocent in this situation, and the party returns to the keep, concerned that this is the second person with whom they’ve clashed that is interested in the portals in their basement. They quickly decide to enter Jewelgate to see if they can secure whatever is on the far side.
In Jewelgate Way Station they encounter the night hag Kelleni and her nightmare Coalgnasher. Being the only party member who speaks Abyssal, Rocco tries to negotiate passage through the way station, but talks devolve once again and hostilities break out. Jack uses his rod of wonder and is dismayed when it enlarges Kelleni. Rocco fires off two spellstrike magic missile arrows, causing a score of missiles to slam into her mercilessly as Zol entraps her with vampiric maiden. Though Kelleni and Coalgnasher put up a hell of a fight, they are killed rather quickly, too quickly for either to escape or raise the alarm. This will greatly benefit the party for what awaits them ahead.
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The use of the two magic missile spellstrike arrows (crafted by Jack and Zol immediately prior to them entering Jewelgate) really turned the tide of the battle against Kelleni. Rocco did just over one hundred points of damage in round one, and the battle was over at the end of round two. Not too shabby. The party was greatly helped by using all of their hero points in this battle as we were just about at the end of the session when it started.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session twenty three was last Saturday, and lasted five and a half hours.
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Eager to continue through Dreamgate Way Station, Rocco heads down the next passage. He finds the hags Rusty Mae and Senna in negotiations with a bone devil, and they are none too pleased to see him. Rusty Mae captures Rocco in her bonds of iron, and Virgil jumps to his defense as the rest of the party soon follows.
While he initially stays out of the fight, Haznazak the bone devil enters the fray when Jack’s sudden blight spell includes him in its radius. Forgoing his longbow, Rocco instead uses his greataxe, but he is soon filled with dread as several blows from Rusty Mae’s claws rust his axe through, rendering it useless. With his axe out of action, Rocco flees the room. Zol thwarts Haznazak’s efforts to follow Rocco via dimension door with a well-timed counterspell, buying his diminutive friend some precious time to heal up and ready his longbow.
Chiana circles around to the rear and flings Eclipse repeatedly at both Rusty Mae and Haznazak, scoring several hits, but not inflicting as much damage as she had hoped. Seeing the party having difficulty harming the hags with their weapons, Zol suddenly recalls that he long ago heard a story about such hags, and that they are resistant to edged weapons. He shouts out to them to use appropriate weapons, and the fight starts to turn around. Virgil steps up to Senna, standing between his friends and the annis hag. She takes the bait, striking him with her talons, but Virgil’s exploding shield detonates as she strikes, shredding the flesh from her arm. Virgil then trips her with his flail and wails on her as she lies helplessly on the ground.
Before long, the hags lie dead, and Haznazak stands alone. With several party members resisting his envenomed stinger, he decides that it is no longer worth his time to bother with these mortals. Before he returns back to Hell, he tells Virgil that he will be back for him.
With the fight over, the party takes a bit of time to rest and recover. They browse through the books found on a nearby table, take ownership of the cauldron and inspect the stone plug that seals the portal that is apparently the exit from the way station. As this is happening, Chiana wanders into the next room and encounters the Tree of Dreadful Dreams.
Chiana is horrified when the tree between the beds in the center of the room animates and smacks her with a branch, grabbing her in the process. Due to the magical nature of sounds being muffled in the way station, she realizes the rest of the party has no idea she is in danger and casts message to communicate with Jack, asking for help. She manages to escape but is hit and grabbed once again, this time dropping unconscious due to the trauma the tree has inflicted. As she loses consciousness, images of her fighting a huge insectoid creature atop a hill on a sunny day flash through her mind. Jack and Virgil arrive to help, and are also hit by the tree and grabbed, with Jack also going unconscious. Rocco shows up and fires off some arrows into the tree, but it barely scratches it. Virgil manages to free himself and Zol uses mage hand to deposit one of the dreamstones into a slot in the trunk of the tree. Unfortunately for him, he chose the cursed dreamstone, and this makes the tree even more powerful. Virgil pulls out his whip and manages to whip the cursed dreamstone out of the tree, and Zol takes another attempt and this time puts the correct dreamstone into the tree, deactivating it. Seeing the tree stop moving, Rocco rushes into the room and administers a healing potion to Jack, instantly rescuing him from the brink of death, while Chiana manages to stabilize on her own.
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The fight with the hags was the longest of the campaign so far, coming in at twelve rounds. Had Jack not inadvertently dragged Haznazak into the fight by getting him in the area of effect of sudden blight, it would have been much shorter. I plan on having Haznazak return to ambush the PCs, probably when they fight the gelugon, though that is a severe encounter. Maybe he will show up at their keep with a friend after this book is completed. I will have to consider this carefully.
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The use of the two magic missile spellstrike arrows (crafted by Jack and Zol immediately prior to them entering Jewelgate) really turned the tide of the battle against Kelleni. Rocco did just over one hundred points of damage in round one, and the battle was over at the end of round two.
You did homebrew the spellstrike arrows? Because, RAW they could not do that.
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You did homebrew the spellstrike arrows? Because, RAW they could not do that.
It was a mistake on my part, which we realized after the session.
Ok, i was just curious, i like to read your session reports!
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Session twenty four was last Saturday and lasted five and a half hours.
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With the way station cleared of danger, the party decides to head back to the keep to rest and recuperate. Virgil heads to the Great Dreamhouse to speak with Kellen about the desecrated way station. Upon hearing about it and what the hags did, Kellen sets about reconsecrating the way station for Desna, restoring it to its former glory with assistance from Virgil and Chiana. During the three days it takes for the consecration ritual, Jack spends some of this time repairing Rocco’s axe and training Corvus, Zol scribes some spells into his spellbook and reads the books located in the keep’s library, while Rocco simply relaxes.
Entering the way station once again, the party exits out the other side and find themselves in a cliffside cave near a burning fishing town sitting on the shoreline. Spotting a ship docked at the quay, they quickly climb down the cliff and make their way across a field toward the town. On the way they are intercepted by a slaver patrol accompanied by a blood boar. A fight breaks out and the slavers are soon dispatched. Being a member of the Bellflower Network, Virgil recognizes this as a raiding party to capture slaves. Since the patrol was bearing manacles stamped with the symbol of the Scarlet Triad that they recognize from their encounter with Heuberk Thropp days ago,, they make haste for the town, intent on putting a stop to this raid.
A plan is formulated to use Virgil's hat of disguise to make him look like a slaver, and they loosely put manacles on the other party members, taken from the patrol they slew in the field. They stash their weapons in bags of holdings carried by Chiana and Zol. The idea is to board the ship at the docks and free any slaves that may be found inside. Making their way through the streets of the town, the party seeing it is in absolute chaos. Multiple patrols like the one they defeated outside of town are moving about, though they are mostly looting as it looks like they have captured all of the slaves they are likely to find and have moved onto the second phase of their raid.
Though there are several blood boars on the dock and a demon aboard the ship, the disguise holds and Virgil takes his crop of “slaves” below decks where the civilians are being held. Rocco and Chiana discretely hand out keys they took off the bodies of the slavers to the captured citizens while Zol tries to distract the slavers milling about in the hold. As they do this Virgil heads topside to try and prevent the sailors and demon from discovering what is going on below decks.
Zol’s attempt at distraction fails and a fight breaks out in the cargo hold. Though they are outnumbered the party has the jump on the slavers and they are dealt with after a brief struggle, but not before one of the last remaining slavers escapes topside to warn his comrades and get assistance.
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For the fight aboard the ship I decided to run it in two parts. The first would be what happens below deck and the second topside. This session ended when the fight in the hold was just about over. We will start the next session with what happened on deck. On round six one of the slavers will make his way up to the deck, so Virgil will have five rounds to do his best to hold off everything up there. Being a champion, he is the best candidate for the job, though he is grossly outnumbered.
The ruse was almost a disaster with the kalakavus demon rolling high enough on perception to see through the disguise, but one of the players was fortunate enough to hold the Plot Twist Card titled Mistaken Identity, which has the property "A disguise works perfectly." He didn't remember this when the plan was formulated, but remembered just as I was about to roll initiative for the fight on deck.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Due to me taking three weeks of PTO, as well as several skipped sessions, we haven't played very many sessions since my last post. Only two, in fact. Life circumstances have meant I didn't update my online notes shortly after the sessions, so I only have my memory and sparse in-game notes to go from for this post and the next. Apologies for their brevity.
Session twenty five was on August 21st and lasted six hours.
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Up on the deck of the Genie’s Smile, Virgil distracts the sailors by engaging them in small talk about their pay. It is not long before the slaver demon Bullbutcher hears the fight downstairs, however, and Virgil leaps into action to protect his friends down below. Realizing that he is badly outnumbered, even with Corvus’ help, Virgil climbs the mainmast to escape the rampaging demon. Unfortunately for Virgil, Bullbutcher casts airwalk and makes his way up to Virgil in the crow’s nest. Sixty feet in the air, Bullbutcher critically succeeds on a shove attack and pushes Virgil out of the crow’s nest. Fortunately for Virgil, he has a snapleaf, which protects him from the long fall down to the deck.
Back on the deck, Virgil is skillful enough to fend off the salvers until one from below decks comes up and shouts for help. Following soon after, the party also comes up and joins the fight on deck. Though the fight is long and arduous, with Rocco, Chiani, Vati and Virgil all dropping to the dying state, the party does manage to slay Bullbutcher. This is a great thing for Chiana, as during the fight Bullbutcher had managed to enslave her soul, and had she died in such a state her soul would have gone straight to the Abyss to be forever tormented. Seeing the demon slain, a number of the sailors flee the ship, heading inland to get help from their leader. Their blood raised due to the violence on deck, the blood boards stay and fight at the direction of their master, dealing tremendous damage to the party.
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The session ended with many players thinking the next would be a TPK. In fact three of the five players created backup characters as a contingency. The party did indeed have terrible luck this session, or rather my luck was great. A blood boar was rolling a crit almost every round versus the party, though thankfully for the PCs only one of them was affected by their terrifying squeal.
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Session twenty six was on September 18th and lasted five and half hours.
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With the death of Bullbutcher, the party rallies to fight off the remaining slavers and blood boars on the ship. Rocco and Zol fight from high above in the crow’s nest while Jack, Chiana and Virgil slug it out down on the deck. Eventually the party triumphs, but not before several sailors make it to shore for reinforcements. Realizing that they are in no condition to fight on, and with a hold full of civilians, they cast off the ship’s lines and sail out to sea.
Butchering the boars to feed the scared civilians on board, the party discusses things with Rollis Nenderlin, whom they freed from the ship’s hold. He is a fisherman who has been living in Cypress Point for his entire life and is the man the other civilians look up to. Rollis tells the party that there are still many civilians in town, and he fears what will happen to them in retribution.
Recovered from their wounds, the party sails the Genie’s SMile back to the quay as the sun rises. What they find there brings everyone down. The town is in ruins, set aflame in the night. Corvus flies high above the town to scout, and all he sees is destruction, with no signs of life. Every building is amosking ruin, as well as the fishing boats the townsfolk rely on for their livelihood.
Going ashore, the party searches for signs of the slavers who must have left hours before. Rocco and Jack find signs of them leaving on the road south, taking with them people that are shackled. Feeling partly responsible for the fate of these people, the party decides to head south along the coastal road to Kintargo, hoping to catch up with the slavers before the trail goes cold or they can make it into the city and disappear among the population. Before they leave town, the party is approached by Halleka Shadeborn, an emissary from Nidal, who asks to escort them to Kintargo as he is on his way there himself. The party agrees, provided Halleka does not interfere with their efforts to free the captured townsfolk.
After a day of travel, the party sets up camp for the night. In the dark they are found by Harriet, who had been tracking the slavers herself. The party is happy to reunite with their feline friend, whom they had thought may have perished in the destruction of Cypress Point the previous night.
The next day, Corvus spies two reptilian creatures flying above the road ahead, making lazy circles in the distance. The party realizes that they have caught up to the slavers, who have taken seven halflings from Cypress Point with them as future slaves.
The slavers stop in the road, waiting for the party to catch up as they know they cannot outrun them with shackled prisoners. Virgil approaches the apparent leader, a large man wearing an eyepatch. Being a member of the Bellflower Network, Virgil is never going to negotiate with slavers, he is just using the eyepatch man’s willingness to negotiate as an excuse to close the distance before attacking. Before he can attack, Chiana dimension doors next to the man and attacks.
A general melee breaks out, with one of the reptiles (that is actually a drake) diving towards the party while spitting fire, only to be brought down by Rocco’s arrows and Zol’s spells.
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We ended after just one round of combat, with the slavers using the halflings as shields against area of effect spells from the party's spellcasters. Once the fight is over, the party will level up to 10th, the first time they gained a level since May (the longest stretch of both time and number of sessions between levels).
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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I've been pretty lazy as far as typing up my notes go, probably because my games have been so sporadic lately (just one session each in July, August, September and October, and just one coming up this month). The good news is that my house has new floors (yay!), and looks so much nicer than the crappy carpet and tile that was here when we bought the place. Apologies for the brevity of the notes, I will try to type up more detailed notes the day after the next session.
Session twenty seven was on October 16th and lasted five hours.
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Something must be wrong with Rocco, for he fires many arrows from the trees off the road, but few of them find their mark. In the ensuing melee, Virgil and Chiana fight with the leader of the slavers while Jack and Zol provide magical support.
Zol’s fireball erupts in the middle of the fight, killing several slavers but unfortunately killing one of the captured halflings as well. The surviving halflings run for cover, not sure who is on their side now.
The second drake, seeing its mate slain, flees the battle. The one-eyed leader drops both Chiana and Virgil with his greatclub, but is stopped in his tracks by Jack’s magic when he attempts to close the distance to the party’s spellcasters. He manages to break free, and is hit by two high-level magic missile spells from Zol and dies before he can reach him to put him down with his club.
Seeing the battle turn against them as the slavers are killed one by one, two of the slavers grab halflings to use as shields. Rocco shoots one of the slavers, not trusting him to surrender. In retaliation, the slaver slits the halfling’s throat and turns tail along with a friend, escaping down the road towards Kintargo. The party sees to the remaining halflings, healing them as best they can.
The next day the party arrives in Kintargo, following the tracks of the escaped slavers. Jack and Rocco lose the tracks at the docks, but decide to snoop around to see what they can find out. Meanwhile, Virgil wants to take Oan’s remains to his family, so he heads for the noble district, accompanied by Chiana and Zol.
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The next session is scheduled for this Saturday, and we will probably only have one more after that before the end of the year due to the trouble of synchronizing the holiday schedules of six people.
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Session twenty eight was on Saturday and lasted five and a half hours.
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Rocco and Jack head into a dockside tavern and drop some coppers to loosen tongues, their objective to discover the location of Sunset Imports. It doesn’t take long at all before a drunken sailor tells them its location, so they head out to investigate. Scouting the perimeter of the warehouse, they discover that it seems to be an ordinary warehouse, with all exterior doors secured. Heading into the showroom, they meet Sedranni Vashnarstill, the owner/operator.
Seeing how they are dressed, Sedranni initially dismisses them, thinking they are clearly lost or are looking to cause trouble. While his charms fail spectacularly, Jack’s heavy coinpurse captures her attention. While Jack distracts her with inquiries about purchasing expensive items for his castle in Isger, Rocco slips through the door leading to the warehouse. Inside the warehouse Rocco sneaks around, spying a stone golem apparently guarding the area. Fortunately for Rocco it doesn’t detect him, and he is able to sneak through a side door and explore an office. Therein he finds some documents mentioning the Scarlet Triad and the city of Katapesh; he pockets these for future inspection.
Meanwhile, Jack manages to get out of Sedranni that her business has been taken over by the Scarlet Triad and that they have been using her warehouse for terrible things, though she doesn’t know the specifics. She tells them that Laslunn was here about a week ago, but hasn’t been seen since. She begs Jack to assist her, and when Rocco returns to the showroom they agree to get their companions and return to take care of the threat.
Across town in the castle district, Virgil leads Chiana, Zol and Helleka Shadeborn to his old haunts. Using his hat of disguise to appear as a member of the Order of the Torrent, they enter the castle and see Helleka to his rooms. Halleka thanks them for seeing him safely to the castle, and will meet with the Silver Council the next day to begin diplomatic talks.
Virgil heads to the office of his former handler, and on the way is surprised to see that there doesn’t seem to be any Hellknights in the castle at all. In the office of his former handler, the group meets Isaiah Blankley, a low-level bureaucrat for the Silver Council. He doesn’t know what happened to Virgil’s former compatriots, and is unable to help him at all. While Virgil is questioning Isaiah, Chiana peruses the bookshelf behind him, and steals two books from the shelf.
Frustrated and confused by the lack of familiar faces at the castle, Virgil leads the group back across the river, where they encounter Jack and Rocco. Swapping information about what each group discovered, Virgil takes them to the location of the Thrashing Badger, which was burned to the ground years ago when the troubles in Kintargo happened. Seeing that it has been rebuilt, Virgil spends some time asking around discreetly about the Bellflow Network, trying to discover if and where they are operating. He finds out that the Long Roads Coffeehouse is still functioning as a safehouse, and Lady Docur’s School for Girls is still operating as it always has been.
Heading to Lady Docur’s, they are welcomed in and Virgil presents himself as a member of the Network. Lady Docur tells them that just a few hours before they showed up, three members of the Triad were captured attempting to infiltrate the school and are currently tied up in the basement. Lady Docur was trying to decide what to do with them when the party arrived. The party heads downstairs to interrogate them, hoping to discover where in the city the Triad is based.
Corvus, under the effects of Jack’s shrink spell, lands on the shoulder of one of the Triads. Jack begins questioning him, and when the Triad doesn’t cooperate, Corvus attacks him. The Triad, already beat up from the school’s pupils, screams in pain and Corvus peaks out his eye, but the scream is cut off when Corvus returns to his normal, large size. Lady Docur sighs and asks the party to try to keep the noise down, since they are trying to avoid attracting the attention of the authorities.
Even seeing their companion killed so brutally, the remaining two Triads refuse to talk. That is until Zol manages to charm one of them. Zol is able to get info from his charmed friend indicating that he was sent by Ilena, from Tenessen Tower. Ilena reports to a powerful wizard named Barushak. He also tells Zol that the Sunset Imports crew is run by Lurb, who does indeed have a powerful stone golem guardian. With all of the information extracted that is reasonable, the party retires upstairs and leaves the fate of the triads to Lady Docur, who tells the party that she will take care of them discreetly. Concerned about the stone golem, Rocco asks Lady Docu if she can help them obtain a scroll of stone to flesh, which she does, with the caveat that the party use it to destroy the stone golem and all of the Triad members members at Sunset Imports, as well as any others they encounter in Kintargo. Thus satisfied that they can take on any defenses at the warehouse, the party rests for the night to launch their assault in the morning.
Rocco and Chiana creep down the long hallway and prepare to enter a door on the other side of the golem, while Zol, Jack and Virgil await at the main entrance to the warehouse. Scroll in hand, Rocco sneaks into the warehouse and sees that some of the crates near the golem are stacked precariously. He pushes them over onto the golem and chaos ensues.
Chiana rushes up to the golem and tries to stab it, but cannot find an opening. The golem swings at Rocco but he ducks under its blows. Rocco casts stone to flesh from the scroll, temporarily dropping the golem’s defenses. Zol and Jack unload with spells from afar, causing massive damage to the golem as Virgil charges in and hurls his hatchet. Virgil and Chiana take blows from the golem’s mighty fists, and just as the party seems to be getting the upper hand on the stone guardian, a demon and human come from around the stack of boxes obscuring the tear of the warehouse: the golem has backup.
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This session was mostly roleplaying, with just three rounds of combat at the very end. Being a ranger, normally Rocco cannot cast spells, but I am using the new Hero Point cards in place of the Plot Twist cards, and Rocco got one that enabled him to use magic items and cast spells that he normally couldn't.
The party also made great uses of recall knowledge, with Rocco initially identifying the stone golem and its vulnerability to the stone to flesh spell, and Zol was able to use recall knowledge to determine its other magical vulnerabilities. I hope the party uses it more often, and they sometimes forget to do so when facing unknown opponents.
Due to the upcoming holidays, it looks like we may only have one more session this year. Here's hoping I can squeeze in another.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session twenty nine was last Saturday and lasted five hours.
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Zol successfully counterspell’s the demon’s attempt to dimension door next to him. Chiana plays the Pierce Resistance Hero Point card to disable the golem’s physical resistances and Rocco drops it with several well–placed arrows from atop a stack of crates he climbed. Jack scores a critical hit on the demon with searing light (doing 120 points of damage!), exploiting the fiend’s weakness to good damage.
Seeing the spellcasters providing more of a threat, Lurb the human charges Zol and cracks his skull with his club, almost dropping him with a single mighty blow. Corvus swoops into the room to defend Zol, pecking at Lurb’s eyes. Zol pins Lurb to the spot with impaling spike and gets away from the reach of his vicious club. With Zol occupied with Lurb, Krawn the demon dimension doors to the top of the crates next to Rocco, who drops his bow and draws his axe to attack. Not wanting the dwarf to have all of the fun, Virgil climbs up the crates to flank the demon and drops it with a slash from his sword. Left on his own, Lurb tries to escape through the doors to the lobby but is killed by arrows fired by Rocco.
The party enters the rear of the warehouse where Virgil tends to the halfling’s wounds, who identifies himself as Hundy Vosht. Hundy was being tortured by the Triads, and after suffering greatly at their hands told them of several locations run by the Bellflow Netowrk. Hundy begs the party to go assist his friends that he regrets giving up information on. He tells the party the slavers departed not too long ago for the Long Roads Coffeehouse as well as for Kite Hill.
The party decides to go to Long Roads first. Upon arrival, they see the doors hanging open and signs of carnage inside. Upon entering, they find the bodies of what appear to be customers, many among them halflings. As they move about the room, they are suddenly confronted by two ghostly apparitions rising up out of the floor. To Virgil’s horror, they appear to be none other than ghosts of Barzillai Thrune himself!
As the remnants of Thrune engage the party they focus their attention on Chiana. They recognize in her a connection to Pharasma, whose disciples are the greatest foe of the undead. As the fight starts, a ghostly hound is summoned by one Thrune to antagonize Jack. The other Thrune summons a ghostly bell, which begins to toll a sonorous tune, sending shivers down the spines of the party.
The party struggles mightily against the ghostly foes, as other than the champion Virgil they are ill-equipped to damage the inporeal opponents. Soon enough Jack realizes he can exorcise the hound and perform a song to counter the bell’s effects, and the going gets easier as these actions seem to weaken the two Thrunes.
When the fight finally ends, Virgil checks the crawlspace under the storeroom and therein finds Elianda, a member of the Bellflower Network that hid here when the Triad attacked. Elianda tells them there were two animal-headed fiends responsible for the carnage. Having not encountered them yet, the party realizes these fiends have either left or are upstairs. Rocco sneaks up the stairs to the second floor, stealthily opening the trapdoor. He spies two humans sitting on couches, sipping coffee and conversing in a language he doesn’t understand. Chiana, however, recognizes it as Infernal, the language of Hell.
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The party has to rely on Virgil the champion for religion skill checks, and he wasn't able to spare many actions to recall knowledge about these ghosts as he was the only one really able to do damage to them. I had to drop quite a few hints to the party regarding disabling the haunts and how this weakens the ghosts, but eventually they got it. They weren't ever really in danger of losing this fight, but they were doing so little damage with each attack (outside of Virgil) that it was taking a very long time to complete the fight. I suppose I could have fudged some to end the fight sooner, but I prefer not doing that unless absolutely necessary.
This was our last session for the calendar year, as the holidays are approaching and this, combined with two of my players buying a house, means there simply won't be time to fit in another. No worries, we're playing slowly but are inexorably marching towards completing this adventure path.
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Session thirty was last Saturday and lasted five and a half hours.
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With a crowd of onlookers starting to poke their heads into the coffee house, the party decides they have no need to investigate the second floor and the people up there. Instead, it is decided that they should take Oan’s body to the family of his would-have-been in-laws: the Vashnarstills.
Arriving at the Vashnarstill estate in the nice part of town, the party is admitted after Virgil identifies himself. Phlegeto (known to the party as Oan) is placed on the altar in the estate’s chapel, and the party recuperates overnight in the guest wing while the butler, Belvedere, makes arrangements for the funeral.
The following day the party decides their best bet is to strike at the heart of the Scarlet Triad in Kintargo: Tanessen Tower. Assaulting in the AM, Chiana sneaks up to the abandoned tower and finds it empty, though she spots tracks in the dust. The party sneaks their way up the stairs, encountering no one until they reach the sixth floor.
Realizing that the three humans on this floor are likely placed here as an early warning system should the tower be attacked, the party decides to attack swiftly. The leader of this mostly crew is Ivena, whom the party was told about when they interrogated the Traids at Lady Docur’s. She proves to be incredibly resistant to Jack’s magic, but she is not resistant to Rocco’s arrows and Virgil’s sword. Chiana engages the other two, who are using giant wasp poison to decent effect against her. Zol, having hung far behind the party lest he give them away while they sneak about, only just gets into the fight right as it turns in the party’s favor. After two of her fellows fall, one of the poisoners makes a break for the stairs to the seventh floor, attempting to alert her companions. Rocco brings her down with arrows before she can raise the alarm.
Sneaking up the next flight of stairs, Rocco spies two more sentries. While he doesn't know what they are, when he creeps back downstairs and tells Jack, Jack immediately knows that these are alchemical golems. Luckily he knows that they are susceptible to the shatter spell, which he happens to have prepared. It is decided that the party will wait on the sixth floor, while Jack sneaks up the stairs and casts his spell and then retreats back down to his companions.
Jack casts his spell and it damages the golem, destroying one of the alchemical chambers embedded in its wooden body, spraying fire all around it. Jack retreats down the stairs but isn’t quite able to escape the golem and it stabs him in the back with its syringe fingers. Luckily for him, it attempted to inject fire into his body, but was unable to due to the damage he caused earlier.
Zol summons a fire drake to get between the party and the golem as it reaches the bottom of the stairs. The drake barely has time to get its bearing before it is slain by the golem, injected with various chemicals as it is stabbed with syringes and doused with acid from a bomb tossed by the golem at the top of the stairs. Rocco peppers the lead golem with arrows and Chiana uses eclipse as Virgil hurls his hatchet at it and attempts to draw its attention away from his companions. Jack casts elemental form and takes the shape of an earth elemental, hoping this will help him survive the golem’s onslaught.
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We ended mid-fight, and things look grim for the party. Golems are turning out to be quite the issue for them, and I haven't even activated the other Triad members on the seventh floor yet! The fire drake was killed in one turn, suffering attacks from both golems. This disappointed the wizard player, but I reminded him that those attacks were diverted away from the party members, so the spell was not a waste.
Jack and Chiana's players have been anxious to try new classes since the APG came out, and they have rolled up new characters that are in the tower, being held by the Triad. I think I will have them escape just in time to assist the party, possibly in the next session.
Much of this session was spent roleplaying at the Vashnarstill estate, with "Oan" being returned to the family of his bride to be.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Session thirty one was two Saturdays ago and lasted six hours.
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The alchemical golem at the base of the stairs suffers devastating blows that destroy several more of its alchemical receptacles, causing it to fall apart. Its brethren descends the stairs and engages the party at close range. Behind it, several poisoners of the Scarlet Triad descend the stairs and fire their crossbows at the party. Zol drains his bonded item to recast summon dragon, bringing another drake to the fight. The drake breathes a ball of fire at the top of the stairs. The second golem also suffers destruction of its receptacles, showering Chiana, Jack and Virgil with various reagents as each explodes. Without too much difficulty, the foes are defeated, but not before two poisoners retreat up the stairs, though one is caught from behind and slain before it can escape.
On the seventh floor, the party tracks the poisoner to a makeshift barracks, where he is hiding in a cot, whimpering. Jack takes a poisoned arrow recovered from the poisoner’s comrade below and stabs him with it, ending his sad existence. Other rooms on the floor are an alchemical laboratory, where Jack destroys two alchemical golems that were in min-construction, and storage room, where several useful items are found, including several healing potions.
Heading up to the eighth floor, the party finds several closed and padlocked doors, with another slightly ajar at the end of a hall across from one that is not locked. Rocco peers into one door as Chiana peaks into the other. Chiana sees several members of the Triad cruelly kicking some prisoners that are chained, while Rocco sees a wizard at a desk, with a four-armed human-shaped clockwork contraption beside him and several strange blue-skinned creatures equipped with chains standing guard. Rocco closes the door and falls back, yelling to his comrades. Chiana slams her door shut and locks it, trapping the Triads with their victims.
Chiana retreats down a side hall, followed closely by one of the blue fiends. Two others pursue Rocco as Virgil steps up to get between them and Rocco. Rocco takes up position at the end of the room to cover his friends with arrows, as Zol prepares to unleash his magic.
Both the clockwork creature and the wizard unleash cone of cold spells on the entire floor, but the blue fiends do not seem to care. They whip Virgil and Jack with their chains, causing them to bleed profusely. Virgil hacks at them with his sword, felling the one that whipped him. Rocco peppers the clockwork mage with arrows and Zol mirrors the wizard’s move and casts mirror image to protect himself. Chiana manages to deceive one blue fiend into thinking she is a Triad member, so it turns its attention to Zol at the end of the hall. The two Triads in the locked room try to break down the door to protect their master, fearing him more than whatever threat these intruders present.
Seeing an opportunity, two of the prisoners in the locked room with the Triads attempt to escape, one summoning a magic spider from a tattoo on her arm and the other drawing a magic sword from out of nowhere.
Taking a lot of damage from the cold spells, Rocco retreats around a corner and down the stairs a bit, providing covering fire for Zol as needed. Zol needs it too, for the clockwork creature summoned a wall of fire between itself and Zol, cutting Zol and Rocco off from their friends and trapping them with two of the blue fiends. Realizing he is in a lot of danger being so close to the fiends, Zol casts fireball on top of himself, enhancing it with elemental tempest, knowing he will harm himself but hoping this desperate act destroys the two blue fiends as well. Unfortunately for him the magic isn’t as strong as he hoped, and one of the fiends trips Zol with its chain and leers over him.
Chiana brings her snake from her pet cache and it joins in the fight, helping to destroy the clockwork creature. Despite its destruction, the wall of fire it conjured remains, dividing the party and foes alike.
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With the new PCs finally in the game, things are looking not too bad for the party, even though they are effectively cut off from them at the moment. The back to back cone of cold spells did immense damage to everyone but Chiana, so things could be more dire than I think (as I do not track PC hit points). Still, Barushak is alone with three members of the party, a dangerous situation for a wizard to be in, but I have a tactic in mind that will change this on his next turn.
This session marks the eighth month in a row with only one session played. We are going slowly, but will eventually cross the finish line for this book and eventually the campaign.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.
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Keep going! I am lucky to have a weekly campaign game that i am the GM, we rarely failed a weekend.
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Session thirty two was two weeks ago and lasted five and a half hours.
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Barushak casts invisibility on himself and uses dimensional steps to move himself to the far side of the wall of fire. Virgil, Jack and Chiana spend some time seeking for him in the area on their side of the fire in vain. Barushak summons a hellhound and a bearded devil to occupy the PCs, but these are dispatched without much effort. Rocco kills the velstracs harassing Zol, and Vati makes to sense that Barushak is on the other side of the fire. Barushak casts black tentacles to damage and cause the party on the other side of the fire to disperse.
The fight in the rear room spills over into the hall as the Triads get the door open and trip up Mym and Draco (the new PCs) with their flails. One of the prisoners manages to escape and uses an insistent door knocker to create a door to escape the room. Much to her surprise, she finds Chiana on the other side of the wall. Chiana reacts immediately to seeing her old lover, Talindra Presswyn, and moves to attack. Determined to slay Chiana after the events that happened back at Whitebridge Station, Talindra returns the favor.
With Barushak now visible, Zol unleashes a 5th level magic missile but only succeeds in destroying one of Baruskah’s images. Barushak returns the favor by casting collective transposition to move Rocco and Zol across and into the fire, respectively. He then drains his bonded item to once again casts cone of cold into the room, dealing massive cold damage once again to the PCs.
Emerging from the room into the main hall, Thade manages to dispel the black tentacles while pursuing one of the Triads. Mym aids him in dispatching the other as her pet spider scurries about the room.
Rocco fires arrows at Barushak, destroying another image and Zol casts globe of invulnerability and then fires a lightning bolt out of it, wasting the last Triad. Realizing that he is alone and likely to die, Barushak casts dimension door to escape the tower, on his way to Laslunn to report what happened and help her prepare for the inevitable arrival of the PCs.
With the last of the Triads having been slain or fleeing the tower, the PCs take a beat to recover and rescue the last of the Triad captives in the other rooms at the top of the tower. There they find Laria Longroad, owner/operator of the Long Roads Coffeehouse. Laria tells the party that Laslunn left a few days ago and is headed to “the quarry.”, which Virgil realizes is likely the Summer Shade Granite Quarry located several days to the south in the Menador Mountains. Laria tells them that they can find Nolly Peltry at Kite hill, and they should check in with her before leaving.
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The party has finally hooked up with the new PCs, Thade the tiefling magus and Mymtaris the fetchling/changeling witch. Jack and Chiana will likely return to Breachill with their pets, to administer the place alongside Tendulkar.
An interesting thing about this battle was that Jack was hit by acid arrow in round two, and Virgil was inflicted with bleeding by a Velstrac the same round, and both of them failed their flat rolls to end these effects until round thirteen. Truly the rolls were not with them this day.
We skipped another Age of Ashes session this past weekend because the week of the 14th we all took off from work to play a marathon session of the Alien RPG (five straight days of gaming from 9 AM to 9 PM, with people staying over in spare bedrooms) and I needed a break. I ran Destroyer of Worlds for them, which ended in tragedy when PFC Zmijewski tossed a belt of grenades into the Colonial Marine ammo depot in order to kill a crusher xeno. He did much more than that as he effectively killed them all, if not with the resulting explosion then certainly by damaging the reactor and trapping the others moonside with no way to escape the angered xenos. Alien is a great RPG, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys the movies as well as RPGs in general. This was our first RPG marathon and we all had fun, and look forward to doing it again late this summer when Heart of Darkness (the next Alien boxed set) is released.
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Session thirty three was on Sunday and lasted five and a half hours.
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Jack and Chiana decide that they have had enough of the dangerous adventuring life and decide to return to Breachill, to take over administrative studies at the keep. Surely having left things in Tendulkar’s hands for so long is not the wisest decision. They will ferry supplies back and forth to Cypress Point, dropping by every week or so to see if the party has returned from their mission to kill Laslunn.
The rest of the group decides to buy a wagon, with two horses to draw it, so that if there are any freed captives at Summershade Quarry they can return with the party. With Nolly Peltry fully behind their plan to find and kiss Laslunn as well as use Alseta’s Ring as a hub for discretely relocating freed people from Isger and Cheliax, the party heads south along the Silver Road.
Arriving in Whiterock after three days of travel, they stop in one of the two taverns in town, the Lonely Dragon. Inside, they are amused to see the head of a lizard mounted above the hearth. Surely thinking the locals consider this lizard to be a dragon (which although large, it most definitely is not), Mym asks about it at the bar. The large half-orc tending the bar tells Mym that it is an inside joke, from when the locals played a prank on some naive adventurer-types that passed through towns some years ago. Mym nods as if she understands, leaving the conversation not quite sure if the barkeep was messing with her or not. Thade manages to chat up a local farmer bellied up at the bar, and discovers that he saw a man in robes matching Barushak’s description pass through town just the other day.
Confident they are on the evil wizard’s trail, the party decides to forgo the wagon and travel overland across the farmlands, hoping to reach the quarry before Barushak. They sell off the horses and wagon and set out immediately.
Several more days of travel and the party finds themselves near the quarry. Rocco and Thade sneak ahead to scout things out, and come across several armed guards minding the entrance to the quarry, not too far from what appears to be a cave entrance, though they seem to be motionless. Some time is spent deciding how best to approach, with equal thoughts given to fall back to the rest of the party and just launching an outright attack. Eventually it is decided to fall back to the rest of the group and go back together. Rocco eventually sneaks up close enough to see that the guards are already dead, and are propped up on stakes driven into the ground. A grim welcome left behind by the Triad, no doubt. Rocco scouts out the quarry and sees a large figure in the middle, minding a cooking fire. With no cover to conceal their approach, the party decides to try the cave, hoping it leads to another, more concealed, way to enter the quarry.
With Virgil needing a light source to see, the party is noticed by a group of armed guards, who fall back through a curtain on the other side of a small natural chamber. Concerned the guards are getting reinforcements, Mym opens the curtain to see that the guards have gathered in the next room, planning an ambush.
During the ensuing fight Thade turns invisible and puts himself into the center of the group of guards, moments later catching them all with a single casting of chain lightning. Rocco fires arrows into the survivors and Zol hits them with his force magic. Mym lashes with her clawed hands as well as her magic. Virgil steps to the front, placing himself between his friends and danger, and gets his shield kicked in for his trouble. Fortunately for him, it is an exploding shield, but unfortunately for him, the guard attacking him manages to kick it just hard enough to break, but not destroy it, avoiding its explosive effect.
After a bit of time the guards are all killed, but one manages to escape down the tunnel to the west. They momentarily decide to chase him down, but Virgil thinks better of it as the party should take some time to heal themselves before advancing into the unknown.
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Jack and Chiana are out of the party, and their players are happy to finally have a chance to play solely with their new characters Thade and Mym.
During the fight in the quarry cave, Thade managed to deal out a total of 654 damage with chain lightning, as he hit all ten Triads and none of them critically succeeded, with several critically failing. We'll see if he can top that in the future.
Virgil's player was disappointed that his exploding shield was left with a single hit point during the fight, broken but not destroyed. No doubt he will repair it and use it in an upcoming fight.
Quite a lot of time was spent with the players talking about what to do, particularly in Whiterock and at the entrance to the quarry. I don't like railroading my players, but sometimes when they have almost unlimited choices in how to approach a situation they can sure spent a lot of time debating the merits of almost anything! It's ok though, it gives me time to take a restroom break and refresh my beverage.
As usual, my session notes can be found here, with photos.