gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Nov 24, 2019 13:46:36 GMT
Episode 8 - Into the Ring
The party hurried toward the Ring of Gruumsh and found two orcs waiting there. After a brief skirmish they were killed. As Bolgoth and his shaman arrived, accompanied by three more orcs, they were overheard discussing the discovery of the boats and the loss of the crystals. Hunting parties had been dispatched to search for the adventurers, as Qolleb had described their appearance.
A vicious battle ensued, with ranged attacks taking out the shaman, but Bolgoth's brutal axe knocking out Tarik and the arrival of two goblin worg riders confounding problems for the party. Rook revived Tarik with a potion and he fought on, only to be put down again by a worg with Rimir suffering a similar fate. Eventually they were victorious, and the party looted through the orcs gear, finding a shrieking sending stone which they ignored and threw away as well as some smaller ore crystals.
They resolved to return to Crag Crorgar and rest with their dwarf friends.
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Post by brumguvnor on Nov 24, 2019 14:55:02 GMT
See? - I told you we should've killed that wererat!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 1, 2019 17:44:20 GMT
Episode 9 - Rescue Mission
Back at Crag Crorgar the party found the fortress overrun with orcs. In the secret river entrance they discovered Meldar, Night and some female dwarfs with children. Meldar said that they had barely escaped the orcs, and that the Prince had been gravely injured in the battle by a cursed arrow. A small group had escaped with him into the mines and were thought to be heading for the Storm Temple where healing could be found for the Prince. However, they did not take the runestone which would allow them into the temple, so Meldar entrusted it to the party and asked that they attempt to catch up with the fleeing dwarfs. The group had overheard the orcs talking about a cache of ore crystals at Blackhorn Rock, which could be accessed by speaking a name. Seijin used his giant spider form to create web ropes and nets, as well as more poison, and after a short rest the adventurers left the grateful dwarfs behind, assured that they would be safe in the cave for a few days at least.
In daylight, the party emerged from the well and stealthily crossed the courtyard, unseen by the orcs who were mostly passed out after a heavy night of drinking. In the basement of the store, they found two orcs playing with a severed dwarf head, who had been attempting to discover the mine entrance. Rimir, impersonating a boss orc, made them get beck to work, allowing Tarik and the others to kill one of them and incapacitate the other. Dragging them into the mines, they interrogated the orc about the secret cache, but the grunt knew nothing useful.
Seijin, in cat form, was able to sniff out the trail of the dwarfs, and they set off through the maze of tunnels. In a cave with an overwhelming stench, they were attacked by a carrion crawler, but managed to kill it quickly with only minor injuries to the party. In a cave below they could see bodies, and two ghouls which they assailed with missiles and spells. As the undead creatures charged the party, Rimir blasted them apart with his eldritch power. Further onward, the warlock was distracted by a side tunnel, with stone steps leading into a strange chamber. As he entered two Grimlocks emerged from the shadows, but were quickly killed by the quick reactions of the others. In the room beyond, a crystalline mirror could be seen, guarded by a floating eye creature....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 6, 2019 17:46:17 GMT
Episode 10 - Beyond the Magic Mirror
Rimir confronted the Spectator, a floating eye tyrant driven insane by its long years of servitude, and tried to communicate with it. The thing was too mad, and it promptly fired at the warlock with it's eye rays, but Tarik bravely jumped in front of him and took the hit, his dwarven constitution shrugging off the effects. The party then swiftly destroyed the creature before it could do any harm. Rimir immediately approached the mirror, through which could be seen a cluttered study, and was drawn through by milky tentacles. He could hear something approaching through another portal, so he quickly grabbed a wand, a dagger and two sheets of vellum before jumping back through the mirror. As the nameless horror approached, the others smashed the mirror before it could emerge. The rest of the party were annoyed with Rimir for being so reckless, but the warlock was pleased with his spoils, the vellum pages fitting themselves into his book of shadows.
Further into the caves, the party discovered a cavern full of slime and oozes. Tarik noticed a grey ooze, and they were able to destroy it before it got close. A ochre jelly squelched toward them, but again they were able to destroy it before it caused any harm. Trapped up on a rock, they found the Prince and four dwarves, who were very glad to see them. Florin, Palin, Bori and Willi explained that they had not been able to get past the oozes, and that the Prince was gravely wounded. Seijin could not cure him, but was able to brew some tea that made him more stable, and the party settled down to rest on the rock. Just as they were getting to sleep, a gelatinous cube attacked them, but working together, they killed it - with Gragga's axe and Rimir's spells being particularly effective.
Refreshed, the two half elves and seven dwarves continued on, traversing the 'Mouth of Skadi', where stone bridges spanned great stalactites and stalagmites. Spined devils flew at them, but were destroyed by Seijin drawing them in with his thorn whip and Rimir blasting them apart with eldritch power. Seijin was injured, but turned into a dire wolf to withstand more damage. Tarik led the dwarves onward to the Bridge of Thor, which unfortunately had partly collapsed. The monk was able to leap across and attach ropes, and they strapped the Prince to Seijin's back and the wolf leapt across too, nearly missing his footing but managing to scramble up at the last moment, helped by Tarik and Gragga. A hideous Grell emerged from the chasm and attacked Gragga, but he and Rimir injured it so badly that it retreated into the depths. Bori attempted to jump across, but stumbled and the others could not hold him on the ropes, and he was devoured by a maw demon. The others managed to cross, and they used the runestone to open the door and ascended the stairway, emerging into daylight at last.
At the storm temple, they were greeted by Maxtor Cloudmantle, a storm giant. He took them in to the temple, where the High Priest was able to cure the Prince. As the party rested and recovered, they were introduced to the Iron Brotherhood, a group of monks, and were able to use their training facilities. Later, the giant asked them to help with a gardening problem he had - something was burrowing under his plants and causing them to die. Eager to help, Tarik immediately headed into the tunnels, followed by the others....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 15, 2019 18:09:01 GMT
Episode 11 - Getting to the Root of the Problem
The new pages in Rimir's book allowed him to summon a familiar, and so he attempted to conjure one in the shape of a spider. Because of the strange alien magic however, he got a glowing squid-like creature. As this was not very inconspicuous, he dismissed the poor thing and it evaporated in a puff of sad ectoplasm. His second attempt also produced a squid, albeit one that could hover, but it too was destroyed by the heartless warlock. Finally he managed to create a spider, which he used to spy on the others. Gragga was training with the giant, and was now able to create a storm aura when he raged. Tarik and Seijin worked with the monks and learned the ways of the Iron Brotherhood. In the evening, the party had a heavy drinking session on the dwarf ale and storm-brewed firewhisky.
In the morning, as they entered the tunnels to sort out the giant's plant problem, Tarik was uncharacteristically quiet as he was nursing a very bad hangover. The adventurers squeezed through the narrow tunnels (because of all the fungus there wasn't mushroom.... geddit?). They entered what appeared to be an empty chamber, but small fungus men emerged from hiding and attacked them. They were easily killed, but then reformed and continued to attack the party, injuring Gragga and Seijin. The druid discovered that his flaming spheres stopped them regenerating, and so Gragga unleashed his storm aura, destroying the rest of the vegepygmys, but also damaging his friends.
A central chamber housed a lot of rust-coloured mould, which Seijin burned up with his great balls of fire. They were then attacked by more vegepygmys, including a leader and a thorny four-legged creature. Gragga charged in, taking a lot of damage from their attacks, but setting most of the creatures on fire. Tarik fired his bow, impaling two at once with an accurate shot, and Rimir blew several apart with his eldritch blast. Seijin engaged the thorny creature, and eventually the party were victorious.
At the end of the chamber, they found an ominous hole leading down in to darkness. They decided to rest before venturing onward....
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Post by brumguvnor on Dec 16, 2019 10:18:04 GMT
I am still in giant spider form, so I am webbing up the corridor ahead of us so we can take a short rest without too much fear of getting jumped. (famous last words, I know)
As I am in spider form, I will make sure to get more venom for coating weapons.
I know the rules are that 1 dose covers 1 melee weapon or three ranged ammunition: but how long does it last? - is it only for 1 hit?
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 16, 2019 11:55:13 GMT
I know the rules are that 1 dose covers 1 melee weapon or three ranged ammunition: but how long does it last? - is it only for 1 hit? Yes it works for one hit and lasts until it is used.
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Post by brumguvnor on Dec 16, 2019 14:26:13 GMT
Cool. I am at 10 doses stored and will try and keep it at that level.
I'm also going to create a consumable resources tracker for all the stuff I need to keep track of: - hit points - hit die spent in short rests since the last long rest - spells cast - number of uses of Wild Shape since last short rest - spells recovered using Natural Recovery feature - health potions - spider venom - GP and loot
Anyone think of anything else?! -
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Post by zaphodbeebledoc on Dec 17, 2019 11:55:56 GMT
Anyone think of anything else?! Sanitation?
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Post by zaphodbeebledoc on Dec 17, 2019 11:57:24 GMT
Episode 11 - Getting to the Root of the Problem... ...The adventurers squeezed through the narrow tunnels (because of all the fungus there wasn't mushroom.... geddit?)... Stop!!!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 17, 2019 13:54:34 GMT
Episode 11 - Getting to the Root of the Problem... ...The adventurers squeezed through the narrow tunnels (because of all the fungus there wasn't mushroom.... geddit?)... Stop!!! Don't like my puns? You're not a fungi.
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Post by Karrgos on Dec 17, 2019 20:25:02 GMT
|Gods, I can't tell if that was a critical or natural 1.
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Dec 20, 2019 23:21:56 GMT
Episode 12 - Royal Gifts
Seijin transformed once more into a giant spider and carried Rimir down the tunnel, with Tarik and Gragga climbing down behind him. At the end they discovered a massive plant creature - a shambling mound - which they assailed with missile weapons and spells. Rimir created a sphere of otherwordly cold, which damaged the shambler and slowed it's approach. It attacked Gragga, completely engulfing him and nearly suffocating him. The others continued reining attacks upon the creature, with Tarik eventually defeating it with a flurry of punches and kicks. The defeat of the shambler and the vegepygmys seemed to restore the garden to health, and the party returned to the surface to clean up.
The giant was grateful, rewarding them with a staff for Seijin, a boomerang for Tarik, a silver leaf for Rimir and a bag of magic beans for Gragga. There was much celebrating and quaffing of dwarven ale, storm-brewed firewhisky and flagons of the giants onion vodka. They awoke the next day with worse hangovers than before, and were ushered to meet with the now recovered dwarf Prince and his father.
The King appeared briefly via teleportation circle and thanked the party for saving his son. He detailed a battalion of dwarf warriors to march through the portal, down the mountain pass, and retake Crag Crorgar from the orcs. He asked that the party investigate Blackhorn rock, acting on intelligence gained from Meldar and a young dwarf scout who has observed orc bosses leaving the fortress and heading north.
The Prince rewarded the adventurers with a staff, a magic ring, a horned helmet and a bow. He explained that the High Priest could use a wind walk spell to allow them to fast travel towards Blackhorn rock, and that he would lead the dwarves down the mountain and rendezvous with the party at Crag Crorgar. Our heroes readied themselves for the next stage of their journey...
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Post by brumguvnor on Jan 3, 2020 10:02:30 GMT
Some thoughts on last night...
1 Holy shit that was fun!
2 4d6 damage to summon 8 needle blights? - that are basically organic machine guns? - feck yeah that's a price worth paying! - did you see those little bastards go?!
3 See what happens when you plan a decent strategy?! (1) - we kerb-stomped that first encounter due to really intelligent uses of all of our abilities and magic items!
4 See what happens when you plan a decent strategy?! (2) - it just pisses off the GM and so we get the "you're now facing a dragon with zero prep time or planning" scenario...
5 Speaking of which - I thought we were gonna be dead there for a second... - until the obviously plot significant deus ex machina, which was a beautiful thing to behold...
6 I was sorta / kinda hoping that the fight with the black dragon would actually kick off - as those needle blights can be summoned anywhere within 60 foot - so it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if I summoned them all to appear right on the back of the dragon and start to lay into Kel Drakar. Interesting, but potentially very, very short lived and lethal. And I am saying that as the kind of person that can wildshape into a cheetah and run a long way very fast, and then wildshape into a small rodent and disappear underground...
7 Who knew needle blights were such fun to have a post-fight drink with? Sound lads, well up for it! And - next time I summon them I will ask if they have any memory from the first time - to see if they are the same fey spirits each time or not. Because if they are - well - they should get XP!
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Jan 4, 2020 17:24:08 GMT
Episode 13 - The Best Laid Plans
The dwarf high priest cast a wind walk spell on the party, allowing them to transform into clouds of mist and travel very quickly. They soon arrived at the location that had been relayed to them via Meldar, and discovered the young dwarf scout, Thomas, hidden near a camp of eight orcs. Using the effects of the wind walk, they attained the high ground and planned their assault on the orcs from a ridge above the camp. Rimir used his magic to protect Seijin, allowing the druid to use his thorn staff to conjure eight needle blights. The warlock then cast faerie fire upon the orcs, although he did this rather ostentatiously, giving away their position. Nevertheless, the blights showered the orc shaman with needles, and an arrow from Seijin's bow finished the job. The remaining orcs charged up the slope, and the leader set about Tarik with his sword, but Seijin caught him with his thorn whip, pulling him into the reach of the monk's naginata, and he was defeated. The party working together with the blights were too strong and the orcs soon all lay dead, with some of the only injuries being from when Gragga entered his firey rage.
The party celebrated with beer, and the needle blights were allowed to share in the festivities. The orcs had been carrying two medium-sized ore crystals, presumably to the nearby Blackhorn Rock. The party sent Thomas back to Crag Crorgar, and once again transformed into mist form to travel quickly to the spire. The location was deserted, but Seijin noticed the outline of a niche in the base of the rock, so Rimir and Tarik changed out of mist form, which took a minute, to investigate. They tried speaking the names of the orcs to no avail, but then Rimir touched his hand on the rock while saying the name, and a small door swung open, revealing a niche. The chamber was empty, but a swirling dark cloud appeared in the sky, and after a few moments Kel Drakkar himself rode out of the portal on his black dragon.
The orc necromancer summoned seven undead minions atop Blackhorn Rock, and began to circle, pronouncing doom upon the characters. Rimir and Tarik had begun the transformation back into mist form, and were trapped and incapacitated as the undead advanced upon them. They elected to re-materialise, which Tarik successfully achieved, but Rimir was stuck in limbo and very exposed as the skeletons and wights approached him. Bravely, Tarik interposed himself, smashing one of the skeletons, and goading the wights to attack him instead of Rimir. This tactic worked, allowing the warlock to escape and fly to the top of the spire in mist form. Tarik positioned himself halfway up the spire, meaning that only one enemy could attack him, and continued to pummel the undead with his staff and fists. Meanwhile, Gragga and Seijin had landed near the base of the rock, and transformed back to solid form in time for some of the skeletons and a wight to attack them. They managed to destroy the undead with the barbarian entering a blood frenzy, and the druid turning into a dire wolf.
Rimir, on top of the rock, also turned back into solid form and obliterated one of the wights with an eldritch blast. However, Kel Drakkar saw this and flew straight at him, the dragon readying itself to spew acid. Suddenly, another swirling portal appeared in the sky, and a flash of bright white light heralded the appearance of a beautiful golden-haired elf, riding a pegasus. She immediately engaged the necromancer with bolts of radiant energy, eventually driving off the fiend through another sky portal. The adventurers were able to deal with the remaining undead, and prepared to greet the elf maiden who had saved them....
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