gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Sept 30, 2019 22:43:13 GMT
Episode 2 - Temple of Doom
Having awoken the goblins, the group headed for some nearby minecarts and pushed them off down the track. The goblins jumped in other minecarts and followed close behind, with more alerted goblins joining the chase. The party threw rocks at the goblins, and a few accurate shots hit a couple of them. As one tried to leap on to their cart, Seijin produced a thorny whip from his hand and pulled the goblin on to the track where he was then decapitated by the cart. As the track headed out across the great chasm, the escapees managed to jam the goblin's cart with rocks, and they were able to get away.
Across the chasm, they entered some disused tunnels, and spotted a boarded-up passageway. They clambered over some debris, and pushed the minecarts towards a more open area ahead, where there were more goblins. Their pursuers went past, and the party was able to explore the tunnel. They crossed a breach with a handy plank, and found themselves in a network of old mining passages. As they went deeper, Seijin discovered webs, and brushing them away alerted a large spider, which attacked them. Seijin fought with improvised stone daggers, and Rimir used his home-made sling. The beast was finally slain by Gragga with his stolen goblin scimitar.
After a few dead-ends the party discovered part of the passage which had fallen in, revealing a chamber below. Rimir climbed down to investigate the body of a goblin in the rubble, and was surprised when the skeleton attacked him! Seijn slid adeptly down to his aid, and he and the others managed to defeat the undead monster. Below, they found an empty chamber, and steps leading down to a tomb. The room contained three sarcophagi, and before they could investigate further, skeletons burst out from them and began attacking the party. Gragga and Rook were injured in the battle, and Rimir was dealt a powerful blow with a spiked mace by one of the skeletons. Two skeletons were destroyed by the party, leaving a zombie which bore an amulet with a black gemstone. Seijin snatched up the mace and crushed the zombie, breaking the amulet and releasing a spirit which dissipated with an audible sigh. Seemingly, the evil was gone, and the party revived Rimir and collected a few old weapons from the tombs.
Rimir was drawn to a niche in the wall, which was covered in a translucent cocoon of milky tentacles. Apparently hearing voices in his head, he placed his hand into the niche, despite warnings from the others, and retrieved a dusty, leather-bound book. Initially appearing blank, Rimir later found arcane symbols on the first page and began to decipher the mystic text. The tomb was a dead-end, but following the passage in the other direction, and using the plank to cross another gap, they discovered that the entrance to this section of the mines opened on to a ledge in the great chasm, with no bridge or ladders nearby...
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 1, 2019 13:17:50 GMT
What - no mention of my stunning use of thornwhip - the one where I smashed the slag out of his mid-air leap?!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Oct 1, 2019 14:05:06 GMT
What - no mention of my stunning use of thornwhip - the one where I smashed the slag out of his mid-air leap?! Sorry! Edited.
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Post by zaphodbeebledoc on Oct 4, 2019 15:40:00 GMT
What happened to part the first...
Reclaimers of the Lost Liberty?
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 11, 2019 13:49:58 GMT
godDAMN but I don't think I've spent so long in a campaign at not even first level! - I didn't think we'd make it for a while there last night, but somehow we made it.
Very addictive game right now: many thanks to Steve!
And - how come we've ended up as 2 half-elves and 2 dwarves?!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Oct 14, 2019 21:36:22 GMT
Episode 3 - The Last Resort
The party could see a cave entrance below them, but getting to it meant a dangerous slide down the cliff, so they decided to retrace their steps back to the spider lair. There, Seijin managed to fashion an excellent rope from the spider silk. They rested for a while, but Rimir's attempt to make a fire with his emerging magical powers ended in disaster, and the wood was all turned to ash. They used the spider rope to descend to the lower cave, and had to sadly say goodbye to their useful plank.
Creeping through the natural caverns, they discovered an area of supernatural darkness, which they avoided, and made their way through passages which seemed untrod for years. Suddenly Gragga was attacked by a flying batlike creature, but he batted it away and smashed it against the wall. More stirges appeared and Rimir, Bishop and Rook were left unconscious on the floor as the creatures quickly sucked their blood. Eventually the stirges were killed or dispersed, but the fallen heroes were still out cold. The group had no choice but to wait for them to awaken, and spent a miserable hour in the dark corridor.
Rimir and Rook recovered enough to walk, although they were still weak. Bishop's condition worsened, and the others sought divine help to save the ailing old man. Their prayers seemed to help, slightly, and the group wondered how they could concoct some kind of healing. Through communicating with Rook, Seijin discovered that a healing salve could be made from spider silk glands, and they had noticed another passage filled with webs earlier. Bravely, they ventured down the passage and confronted a gigantic spider, as big as a horse. They attacked the beast before it sensed them, and managed to injure it badly. Rook charged in, and the spider pounced on him, but instead of being killed he transformed into a bird and flew out of the spider's reach. The beast was finally slain, and harvested for it's spinnarets, from which a healing balm was concocted. Finally managing to make a fire, the party found a cave they could defend and settled down to rest...
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Post by zaphodbeebledoc on Oct 15, 2019 8:32:07 GMT
I'll miss that plank! We've known him for several hours! I'll knot forget the look on his face as we left him...
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 17, 2019 7:56:27 GMT
I might have been extracting the relevant pages on new druid circles from the 2 Xanathar books and emailing them to my work email address so I can print them out all posh like, so I can min-max like a munchkin on steroids select the best options for a satisfying narrative...
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Oct 18, 2019 13:13:10 GMT
Episode 4 - Roast Spider
Huddling in the cave, the adventurers posted watches and tried to get some sleep. While Siejin was on watch, he heard a scuttling and noticed a giant centipede emerging from a crack in the wall and heading for Bishop. Quickly lashing out with his thorn whip, he strangled the beast, and Gragga chopped it to bits. During the next watch, Rimir was attacked by a shadow, which reached out and sucked the life energy from him before he could react. Tarrik punched the undead creature, landing some mighty blows despite it being composed of shadow. Seijin produced balls of flame and hurled them at it, while Gragga charged in and finally destroyed it with his scimitar. The stricken Rimir was very pale, and the life was leaving his body, but Bishop crawled over to him and expended the last of his strength, reviving Rimir and leaving the old man a lifeless husk on the floor.
In the morning, having eaten cooked spider, spiced with Warlock magic, the party felt considerably better. They made a cairn for the old priest's body, and Tarrik carved an intricate memorial stone to mark the place, for which he received a blessing. Moving onwards, they decided to check out any unexplored passages. Tarrik searched a dead end and inhaled some yellow mould, which left him coughing and poisoned. Further on, they found an inert corpse with a flask of viscous liquid. Seijin was narrowly missed by a piercer, and they took a different route to avoid more. Another cavern held a rust monster, which damaged Gragga's weapon before the party killed it by throwing rocks. Having avoided a swarm of bats, they finally discovered a way out of the caverns - a chimney which led to a goblin forge below.
Having waited for the goblin smiths to leave, the party quietly descended into the room by means of the spider rope. The single guard was dispatched by the party working together, and they freed a half orc slave, who introduced himself as Fenbir. The group collected some weapons and then had to sneak past some large groups of sleeping goblins. Fenbir was not quiet, dragging his rock on a chain which he was using as an improvised weapon, and a nest of goblins woke up. Rimir cleverly used his emerging magical powers to appear like a demonic presence, and the goblins cowered away, allowing the party to move on. Near the cave mouth, Gragga spotted a great axe lodged in a roof support. He tried to pull it out wit Fenbir's help, but could not. Eventually he used his rage to empower him and managed to extract the axe, bringing down the roof and trapping the awoken goblins that were about to attack.
The party reached the chasm once again, and could see a minecart track which went upwards, and a rope bridge leading to a cave entrance on the other side. Having escaped the goblins for now, they headed across the bridge...
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Post by Karrgos on Oct 19, 2019 12:55:49 GMT
Just a heads up. I've given my Staff to Seijin. It didn't feel right for my dwarf bounty hunter to wield it. I would like to talk about getting a pair of tonfas, when/if we make it to civilisation.
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 19, 2019 15:27:45 GMT
Sweet! - many thanks my monkish friend! - a staff is much more thematically appropriate for a druid too.
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Oct 25, 2019 17:06:57 GMT
Episode 5 - The Great Escape
Across the bridge our heroes found an area used by the goblins as a collection and dispatch area, with a wooden staircase leading upwards, mechanical lift leading downwards and a cave entrance from which a familiar voice was heard. Tuvok, the slave master emerged, flanked by his two cronies, muttering about performance targets. Failing to hide behind the stairs, the party was spotted and the battle commenced. Gragga waded in with his new axe and Tarik with his fists, whilst the others attacked with missiles and spells. Fenbir took out one of the goblins with his rock and chain, but also inadvertently destroyed the stairs with a wild swing, injuring Seijin in the process. Eventually the goblins lay dead, but Tarik and Gragga were badly wounded and had to be revived with the last of the spider serum.
Rimir insisted on investigating the cave and discovered the room of the overseer. After hurling spells at him, they retreated and were followed by his pet, a cockatrice, which was quickly killed by all the party working together. Back in the office, Rimir took a wound from the overseer's poisoned blade, before the goblin bureaucrat was sliced in half by Gragga's axe. After looting the room and finding some gold and gems, Rimir used the maps to plan their escape.
Descending on the lift, the adventurers came across an orcish pirate captain, who was swigging from a flask and telling stories to a group of goblins. The party surprised the group with a flurry of missile attacks which killed the orc before he could get close. After a vicious battle with the remaining pirates, they were killed, but Gragga and Night were left unconscious and Tarik badly wounded. The monk took a couple of swigs from the captain's flask, which emboldened his spirits a little. After looting the bodies the remaining members dragged their comrades aboard the boats and untied the moorings, allowing them to be carried off downstream.
Unfortunately, a last obstacle barred their way: a huge ogre guarding a winch-operated gate. After Seijin failed to bribe the ogre, the conscious members of the party resigned themselves to a battle they would likely lose. Tarik leapt off the boat and circled the ogre, sniping him with arrows and Rimir hurled balls of eldritch power. Fenbir missed with his rock, and was then crushed to death by a single blow from the ogre's mighty club. Just as it appeared that there was no hope, Seijin struck out with his thorn whip: he caught the ogre around it's neck and pulled the creature off the bank and into the water. Unable to swim, the ogre was ripped to shreds by the hordes of undead goblins lurking beneath the surface. Unfortunately Fenbir, their fallen comrade, was beyond help and could not be revived. Nevertheless, they were fortunate that any of them had lived. They managed to open the gates and the boats carried them out of the goblin mines. Finally they could see light at the end of the tunnel! They had escaped!
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 26, 2019 12:10:52 GMT
I can't believe how useful thornwhip is! - I mean: it's not every combat that you want to drag an enemy 10 foot closer... - but when you do you really need to!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Nov 4, 2019 22:17:57 GMT
Episode 6 - Eye of Newt and Tongue of Rat
Emerging into the light, our heroes travelled downstream for a while and then found a place to stop and rest. Tarik managed to remove the shackles from everyone, and they settled down to their first night of freedom in a long time. In the morning Seijin produced berries which tasted wonderful and sustained everyone.
On the boat, they found orders to Captain Flack, which told him to deliver the weapons to J'Fak as normal, but that the special cargo should be taken to the Ring of Gruumsh by midnight on Thorsday, where Gar-Zorin, the shaman with Bolgoth's company, would collect it. The special cargo turned out to be two chunks of ore within which purple crystals could be seen moving and growing. A sending stone was also discovered.
Further down river, the party came across a hut wherein lived an old crone. She explained that although J'Fak was a hive of scum and villany, it was not wholly orcs and goblins that were there, so the party could possibly enter without being slaughtered on sight. Under the influence of some mushrooms, she had a vision of a dragon-riding orc shaman named Kel-Drakkar who figured in the adventurer's future and also that they would 'ascend'. After helping the old lady out with various tasks, the party were given herbs and potions, and were able to make serviceable suits of armour from those they had taken from the goblins.
Just outside J'Fak, they stopped at the 'Frog Rock', and met a trader named Qolleb and two merchants. Rimir persuaded him to tell them the best way to trade in J'Fak, and he directed them to 'Old Ned' around the back of the Rusty Anchor Inn. During the night Seijin became aware of a noise on the boats, and discovered a giant rat sniffing around. It jumped into the water and escaped, but Tarik had been woken and spotted it over by the tents. A scuffle ensued, with Tarik punching it, Gragga swinging his axe, and the other two hurling spells. The creature proved to be much tougher than a rat, and it bit Rimir before finally surrendering. Transforming back into a human, it was revealed to be Qolleb, a wererat. He protested that he had 'only been looking', and the group debated on whether to spare the creature's life...
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Nov 9, 2019 21:05:05 GMT
Episode 7 - Conflict Avoidance
Qolleb pleaded for his life, and the group eventually decided to spare him as long as he agreed to help them sell the weapons. He drew them a map of the town and surrounding area. In the morning they stashed the boats and loaded the weapons and supplies on to a cart that Qolleb had. He bribed some goblins and they entered the town without being questioned by any orcs. They met with Old Ned, and Rimir used a combination of intimidation and elfish snobbery to negotiate a very favourable deal - 100gp for the shoddy goblin weapons. Tarik purchased an axe, and they allowed Qolleb to scarper. They moved cautiously through the town, judiciously avoiding the tempting wares and fighting pit. Leaving the place by the east road, Rimir again used his intimidation to prevent some goblins questioning them.
The group decided to ignore the Ring of Gruumsh, where two orcs could be seen waiting, and follow the river south to Crag Crorgar. As they approached however, they spied a large encampment of orcs laying siege to the dwarven stronghold. Again keen to avoid conflict, they skirted the place and approached from the river, where Tarik remembered something about a secret entrance. After signalling to the dwarves, the monk was lowered down on a rope and eventually found a fissure between the rocks. The whole party followed, and eventually emerged from a well inside Crag Crorgar, where they were greeted by the dwarves.
Our heroes spoke with the dwarf Prince, Borg Thorson, and Meldar Greybeard, a cleric of Odin. They discovered that the orcs had been there for about a week, and they were possibly seeking a source of some rare crystals from the mines, the same as the 'special cargo' that the party had in their possession. It transpired that the dwarves, orcs and men had all met with some 'Dragonlords', who were seeking these crystals in exchange for great power. The dwarves were keen to beat the orcs and gain advantage over them in the wars to come, by obtaining more crystals than them. Apparently a meeting was scheduled to take place in eight days time, at the full moon, on the 'bloodless rock' which lay at the boundary between the orc, human and dwarf lands.
The dwarves were very pleased with the adventurers' ore, saying it was a gift from the Gods. They also enjoyed the nourishment from Seijin's berries. They allowed the party to rest and recuperate, as well as improving their equipment. Our heroes discussed plans to infiltrate the orc army and take out their leader but decided that maybe this was rather ambitious. On learning that Bolgoth was a minor captain, and they knew he was expecting the cargo at midnight, they decided to return to the Ring of Gruumsh and surprise him....
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