Participating PCs:
Human Fighter;
Half-Orc Ranger.
The Bugbear assault group is on hold. Instead, two PCs decided to scout out the gnoll cave. They successfully snuck into the entry cave and spied a group of four gnoll guards and two hyenas in the next room. Bravely, they chose to ambush this group. A battle ensued and the two retreated to the cave entrance. The gnoll chieftain arrived and issued a challenge, which the Fighter accepted. As the duel developed, the Fighter realized he was overmatched and the Ranger decided to give him a hand with a well-placed bow shot. This angered the watching gnolls and they charged the cheater and cut him down. Now, surrounded with the exit blocked, the Fighter had no option but to finish the duel. He lost. The gnolls, however, took both bleeding, but still living adventurers and gave them to the cook to tenderize for a feast in a few days.
Fortunately, for them, another pair of adventurers arrived.
Participating PCs:
Zekiel - Elven Ranger;
Human Rogue (Thief).
These two PCs were more stealthy and had the advantage of being able to administer Sneak Attacks against ambushed foes (ie. backstabbing, for you pre-3.x ed. players). They began in a manner similar to the previous two unsuccessful PCs, but they managed to drop the first two gnolls quickly and their skill level and magical equipment was of a better caliber, so they fared better against their opponents. The hyenas, and even the chieftain's dire hyena, proved no threat against their blades, but the chieftain (2nd level Ranger) and his two sons (1st level Fighters) were more of a concern. While Zeke battled the chieftain, his comrade distracted the sons and a few other gnoll warriors.
Zeke barely managed to defeat the chieftain (1 hit point left), but one of the sons ran over and cut him down immediately after. As the gnoll Fighter prepared to coup de grace Zekiel's unconscious form, the human Rogue dropped its brother. This caused that gnoll to charge him instead of finishing Zeke off. The human Rogue deftly tumbled between the bodies and blades of the last gnoll son and a few of his fellow warriors to come up at Zeke's side. There he drained a healing potion down Zeke's throat and stood his ground to prevent the gnolls from attacking him. Zeke managed to regain his feet, down another potion himself, and together, they defeated the remaining gnolls.
Collecting some magical armor from the chief, all the coin they could find in the gnoll caverns, and rescuing the barely conscious forms of the previous two adventureres, they made their way back to the Keep.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Mon Jul 28, 2014 5:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
SX, glad to see you are still running this 'old time' favorite module-campaign for us to read. Keep them coming. At some time, not sure when, I intend to add my own tales of (mis?)adventure...
Participating PCs:
Zekiel - elven Ranger;
Tumak - dwarven Fighter;
Thordac (previously referred to as 'Sir Somebodyorother') - half orc Ranger;
Ash Ole - half-elven Fighter.
Zekiel, Thordac, and Ash stood at the entrance to a cave that seemed to be deserted except for the large bats they had previously seen exiting. After some discussion, Zeke decided to scout a short way into the tunnel before being followed by the others. The way was not worked stone, but natural cavern, though the floor was well-worn by countless footsteps. Quickly encountering a T intersection, Zeke turned left and advanced another few steps before feeling a dizziness assault his mental faculties. He struggled to fight it off, but felt that he was not succeeding, so turned to return to the entrance and his compatriots. He had either traveled farther into the tunnel than he remembered or the dizziness was messing with his senses because the entrance was not just around the corner he had turned. Continuing on, he stumbled a bit in the darkness until he drew his new dagger - a holy weapon infused by Abdiel with the magic of Heironeous. This weapon shed light as a torch, so Zeke made his way comfortably.
Back at the entrance, Ash and Thordac called for Zeke, but heard no response. They decided to follow him in, but succombed to the magical confusion in turn. They remained together, but also began wandering cluelessly through the tunnels seeking the exit. Thordac was not hindered much by the darkness, but Ash lit a torch to aid his sight. They were not prepared for the traps they ran into, but the traps' keeper was altogether worse.
Zeke traveled until he entered a medium-sized cavern with a high ceiling. He could just detect the movement of a dozen or so giant bats at the edge of his torchlight, but what caught his attention was the glint of gold near a skeleton wedged into a nook in one corner of the room. As he pondered the possibilities, the 'bats' swooped from their perches and attacked. Being the size of large cats, only 6 of the 13 could attack him at once, but a couple of them managed to land upon him, clutching at his armor with six hooked legs, and drive a terrifyingly long probiscus into his flesh. Though the thought was nauseating, the pain was minor. Unfortunately, the result was more threatening as they began to drain blood at an alarming rate.
Ash and Thordac were about to have a very bad day. Ash, in the lead, tripped a wire which dropped a weighted net from the ceiling. Ash managed to roll away from it, but the Ranger was caught. Worse, a spear fired from the wall behind them and hit Thordac in the back. The Ranger worked to quickly free himself from the net while Ash looked up from his prone position to see an evil-looking bull, horns and all, peering down upon him from the darkness.
Thinking quickly, Ash pulled a pouch full of gold coins from his belt and held it up as an offering, but the beast swung two battle axes (hand ax sized for the large creature) down upon him in response. The first severed Ash's hand at the wrist, but he still managed to dodge the swing of the second. Frantically, Thordac fought to free himself from entanglement while Ash swung, unsuccessfully, at the minotaur's groin with his morningstar. As the Ranger rolled free of the net, Ash tripped while trying to cross it. The minotaur chopped Ash again, dropped his second axe to free his other hand to grab the half-elf, slammed him against the wall of the tunnel and jammed his horns into the same wall on either side of Ash's head (Legend stlye ). Satisfied that Ash had been knocked unconscious, he ignored the fleeing Ranger and took his victim back to his lair to save for later.
Zeke was slowly managing to slay the stirges, but they were draining him of his strength at an alarming rate. He was surprised to hear a shout and see the dwarf Tumak enter the cavern from another tunnel. Having been reared underground, the dwarf had resisted the effects of the dizzying magic and knew the way back to the entrance. Zeke shouted for him to lead the way and the two of them raced for it. Several of the stirges had satiated their thirst for blood on Zeke already, but the two that continued to harass him were slain as they emerged into the daylight.
Thordac ran without a sense of direction, knowing only that facing the minotaur meant certain death. He came to a room with two strange war dog-sized beetles with glowing sacks on their backs. They were apparently as interested in him and came forward with clacking mandibles. He was able to slay them without suffering injury, but he encountered three more of the insects in the next cavern he entered as well. These served up a cut or two before expiring to his blade, but he remained as lost as before. Unhelpfully, the minotaur arrived to make finding the entrance a moot point. Thordac fought bravely, as there was no retreat, and managed to draw the creature's blood, but he quickly fell to dual blades being swung by the powerful shoulders of the bull-headed giant. His unconscious form was dragged back to join that of Ash - to be eaten at the beast's leisure.
Fearing for their lives, and assuring each other that their comrades must surely be dead, Zeke and Tumak raced for the Keep. Zeke was ambushed by an owlbear, but the two warriors were more capable than they had been just a few months earlier and slew the beast before it could deal more damage than they could handle.
Next up: Clamidi'a makes her appearance.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Thu Nov 30, 2023 2:12 am; edited 5 times in total
Argon, funny that you mention a 'name generator.' Historically, before I spawned kids of my own, I would flip through the telephone book for names! Now I have a name book we (wife and I) have after negotiating names for our son and daughter. The kids are much older now, but I still have that book, and use it to name PCs and NPCs alike!
Too bad my wife didn't like the name Luke and Leia, but even though I tried to use Jedi mind tricks on her, she is too strong-willed.
Years ago Eddie Murphy had a skit where he stated that Chinese name their children by throwing them down the stairs. Whatever sound they make is their name. Chin Oui-Yu.
Wait I think that will be a monk in Sir Xaris game soon.
Sorry for the long dry spell fellas. It is difficult for me to remember all that happened, but I'll try to mention the main events to get caught up in the campaign.
The four adventurers who decided to brave the caves next elected to forego challenging the minotaur again and entered the lair of the Bone Breakers tribe of orcs instead. They remembered the trip wire which would drop a weighted net on them in the four way intersection until the fight began. As orcs arrived to the battle from the east and west, throwing spears and charging with battleaxes, Tumak forgot the trip wire in his haste to participate and dropped the net upon himself. The others managed to dodge the falling trap, but the poor dwarf became so entangled that he spent the vast majority of the battle trying to free himself.
After a few rounds of battle, the remaining orc chieftain, D to da Ork, arrived from the northern passage with his bodyguard and the two tribal shamans. His magical, two-handed throwing maul (+1 Throwing, Returning earthbreaker) pounded the PCs who thought they had an advantage at range, so two of them chose to charge him and the bodyguard instead of trading missile fire with them.
D to da Ork
The orcish shaman from the Other clan
The Bone Breakers shaman
As the battle raged, the shamans healed the chieftain of his wounds while Blump healed the party's warriors of theirs. As a result, it lasted long enough for the dwarf to finally escape the clutches of the net. At long last, both the bodyguard and D to da Ork were slain and only the shamans remained. They, however, were now free to blast the party with Burning Hands, Murderous Command, Sleep, and other such spells. Fortunately, the PCs survived the firey damage, overcame the magical compulsion to attack their allies, and the only one to fall victim to drowsiness was the caster's fellow shaman.
Thus, the party successfully defeated the band of Bone Breakers which had driven the Battle Royale dwarves from their caves in shame. Back at the Keep, they were confronted by Krondall, Harn, and Rord, the leaders of the dwarven avenging team, who claimed that the Bone Breakers owed their clan 3,000 pieces of gold and that any loot claimed was the rightful property of the Battle Royale clan. In order to avoid making more enemies, the party offered the dwarves a suit of magical splintmail, a magical battleaxe, and a few potions they had taken from the dead orcs. This satisfied the dwarves and they parted on friendly terms with the party. The PCs were, however, decidedly neutral with respect to how friendly they wanted to regard a clan who would sell weapons to the servants of Iuz.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:01 pm; edited 5 times in total
Each of the PCs is now 3rd level. I decided to quit penalizing them so badly for dieing. I admit, it may be just a small bit my own fault. So, now those who survive, get a small xp bonus instead of a penalty going to those who die.
The Final Deed of Ash Ole
As Thordac fled down random passageways in fear for his life, the minotaur gazed into the eyes of the half elven warrior he had pinned by the neck to the tunnel wall. Studying his newest victim's smell and wondering why it had been foolish enough to enter his lair with only a single companion, it was startled a bit as Ash regained consciousness. Spying first the minotaur's horn piercing the cavern wall inches from his turned head, Ash straightened his neck as best he could in the minotaur's steely grip and stared straight into the beast's black eyes. Gasping for breath, he whispered the words, "I forgive you," and, straining against the clawed hand clenching his throat, he planted a kiss upon the bull-headed monster's steaming snout. And Ash Ole knew no more.
Stay together, for the gods' sake!
Having what they considered to be sufficient numbers and a satisfactory plan, the party decided it was time to deal with the minotaur again. They tied a roll of sturdy string to a dead tree outside the cave's entrance and entered together, all keeping one another close and within sight. They quickly succumbed to the magical confusion that caused them to lose their sense of direction, but felt confident they could always retrace their steps.
They encountered the cave of the stirges and suffered some painful stabs before killing or chasing them off. There, they discovered some small treasure on the skeletal body of an elf pressed back into a crevice. They found a couple of caverns with more live fire beetles as well, during their search. Disconcertingly, they discovered that they were crossing their own path frequently and even traveling down the same passageways they'd traveled before on ocassion. Getting back out by retracing their steps would be a lengthy process, at best.
Eventually, the minotaur, who had been tracking them for quite some time, decided to soften them up. He had cut their string and retied it randomly inside the cavern system so that any attempt to retrace their steps would end with them lost in the center of the labyrinth. When he hit them, he nearly killed his first victim. Finding the PCs so easily hurt, the minotaur decided to stay and fight instead of retreating to make more hit-and-run attacks.
Minotaur (6 HD, Ranger 4th, HP 114, AC 23, Two-weapon Fighting, Imp. Bullrush, Imp. Init., Imp. Critical [handaxe], Quick Bullrush, etc., Stealth +13, Perception +14) +1 Shadow Chainmail, +1 Human Bane handaxe, +1 Keen, Huntsman handaxe, plus a few potions and a lucern hammer for reaching across a pit, etc. Being large sized, his hand axes are actually battleaxe sized for medium PCs. Each round he got three attacks - one with each axe and a gore, all at +13 To Hit. Damage was devastating due to his 20 Strength (+5) and the magical qualities of his weapons.
The party battled furiously for many rounds. The gnome healed frontline fighters who fell back when they suffered too many hit points in damage and allowed freshly healed (from potions) PCs to take their place. The minotaur was able to fall back slowly as he fought as his size allowed him greater reach than the PCs. Despite this, the PCs eventually managed to outflank him in a tunnel intersection and the minotaur decided the advantage had turned against him. He turned to flee, but a couple of the PCs managed to stay close enough on his heels to shoot him in the back before he could turn too many corners. These missiles were just enough to bring the beast crashing down. Collecting the head as a souvenir and the penis to be made into a charm for a necklace, they continued searching for the monster's lair. They discovered that it had almost made it to a large cavern wherein they surmised it must have lived. A covered pit blocked the entrance, but without a minotaur (or kobolds) attacking them at the same time, traversing it safely was not difficult.
Within, they discovered the head of Ash on a pike, mouth open, with a shriveled piece of his own flesh stuck inside. Behind a very large boulder, the victorious warriors discovered a couple of chests full of treasure including several useful potions.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Mon Oct 02, 2023 10:39 pm; edited 8 times in total
Sorry. Lost some players who didn't return to college this semester and those that did return have been busy with life. I'm working hard to put the group's survivors back together and add a few replacements. Hopefully, we'll get started again soon.
"Life" grabbed me by the...and squeezed... some time ago, preventing me from continuing my "Mistmarsh" saga (which I do intend to continue at some point!), so I totally understand, SX.
For now, we are left with two active authors. Wolfling and I will keep the home fires burnin' for ya, 'Xaris! Until you return back with more campaign 'bait.'
Looking forward to the continuation of your tale, whenever that occurs.
Participating PCs
Ynohtna Noswal - male half-orc Ranger, Charisma 17;
Tumak Copperbeard - male dwarf Fighter, Charisma 15.
While their erstwhile companions either lay dead in the ground, in the belly of some humanoid beast, or suffering some other unknown fate, Ynohtna and Tumak decided to explore the forest north of the Keep and the Deepstil River. Ynohtna's two war dogs proved their worth when they scared off a mountain lion that picked up their scent and slunk along waiting for an opportunity to pounce. They were also helpful in a battle against a giant spider the pair of adventurers stumbled upon in the forest's depths. They had elected, wisely they thought, to avoid the hazards of the Caves of Chaos with only themselves. They prefered to wait until it was possible to add more sword and spell arms to the group first. They may have made a mistake.
Continuing, they encountered a harmless pair of cheerful halflings, then defeated a small band of human bandits that attempted to waylay them. Feeling somewhat confident after their recent success, they were none-the-less wary when they heard a sultry female voice call to them from the forest ahead. Ynohtna spied a camouflaged elven form moving within the underbrush between the trees. Striking up a conversation, they discovered the form to belong to a fey dryad. She was strikingly beautiful and Ynohtna was completely smitten when she focused her attention upon him. Tumak was a bit miffed at being ignored, but didn't want to spoil his friend's fun. So, when Ynohtna dropped the shield and sword he was holding and advanced into the dryad's open arms, the dwarf played the faithful wingman and gave them their privacy. The handsome half-orc Ranger disappeared deeper into the forest with the lovely sylph.
After some time, however, Tumak began to have doubts. He remembered hearing from previous companions of an encounter with a dryad that required ransoming a companion (a female PC run by the same player as was running Ynohtna ). He went back and searched for his friend, but found nought but his sword and shield lying where they had been dropped. Wandering around, he was fortunate to stumble upon an elven patrol (I swear I rolled the dryad and the elven patrol randomly! 1% chance for a dryad encounter, 6% chance for an elven patrol.) Surrounded by suspicious elves with bows and swords pointed at him, he explained that his companion had disappeared with a dryad and that he didn't know how to find him. He had to endure much elven snickering when he admitted that the dryad hadn't seemed much interested in him. He had to endure elven guffaws when he added that the companion the dryad had picked over him had been a half-orc.
When the elves gained control of themselves, they offered to help the dwarf, but explained that he'd have to accompany them back to the Keep. There, they explained that a dryad can only be convinced to give up her lover peacefully if she is offered something she considers of greater value - a defensive magic item, a valuable piece of jewelry, or a prettier replacement. Tumak didn't have any magical cloaks, nor rings except for a Ring of Sustenance recently acquired in the minotaur's labyrinth. The elves, however, told him the dryad would have little use for such a trinket. So, he went to see the jeweler in the Keep to purchase something with which to ransom his friend. The jeweler was intrigued at Tumak's plight and recalled helping other adventurers similarly inconvenienced. He commented that the previous group had offered her a platinum and turquoise necklace worth about 750 pieces of gold and that she would likely be unflattered at a lesser, or even an equal, offering. Thus, Tumak was convinced to purchase a beautiful, but frail platinum necklace studded with saphires for 1,000 pieces of gold.
With his ransom and the helpful elves, Tumak returned to the forest to summon the dryad. The elves played their high-falutin music for what seemed interminable hours to the poor dwarf until, finally, the dryad appeared. The elf captain explained why they had requested her presence, then gave the conversation over to Tumak. He requested the release of his friend, Ynohtna, and offered the necklace in exchange. The dryad, however, haggled. She accepted his offer and promised to release the Ranger exactly one year and a day from this day. The dwarf looked to the elf and asked if that was acceptable (The player actually looked at the Ranger's player and asked that question. ). The elven captain quietly advised the dwarf to haggle with her. He got her down to a month, but the elf encouraged him to continue and he was successful in convincing her to lower the time to only two days. However, in addition to leaving the necklace with her now, Tumak was to return in two days with a replacement lover - a knight in shining armor, riding a white horse. That was their agreement. The elves rolled their eyes, but wished the dwarf good fortune and bid him farewell.
Tumak returned to the Keep working out a plan to win the release of his half-orc friend. He remembered the brutish knight, Sir Bluto, who had, along with his fellow knights, squires, and men-at-arms, bullied him and his companions on the road a fortnight previous. The men-at-arms took every opportunity to harass demi-humans and even the human inhabitants of the Keep every time they saw them, especially in the tavern. He knew that the knights and their squires were lodged in the Keep's donjon as noble (though not liked) guests of the castellan. However, the men-at-arms and their sergeants were quartered in the inn - the same place Tumak and Ynohtna had a room. Tumak went to the tavern, found a group of four men-at-arms and their sergeant. They immediately began to hurl insults at Tumak, but the dwarf waved the half-dozen blue-liveried Keep soldiers down when they stood to prevent a fight and offered to buy the men-at-arms drinks. This they insultingly accepted. They were less irritated to accept a second round and were even happy to accept a third, fourth, and fifth round of drinks as long as the stupid dwarf was willing to pay for them.
While buying them drinks, Tumak regaled the armed bullies with tales of his adventures in and around the Keep. By the time they were emptying their fifth round of good, strong brew (Tumak paid for the good stuff ), they were all ears when Tumak told them about a gorgeous elven woman that he and his friend had met in the woods and had some fun with. He even explained that he had been worn out and needed some rest, so had left his friend to have his turn. When questioned, he assured the men that he planned to return for some more of her inviting sweetness and that she had asked him to bring some friends. That was all it took to get the drunken group to the stables. Though the stable boys saddled their horses, it took a bit more work to get them all in the saddle. Attempting to leave the Keep after dark elicited some questions from the Corporal of the Watch, but Tumak, being known to him, was able to alleviate his concerns. The group rode into the forest and Tumak called for the dryad. She was disappointed in the knight Tumak indicated as the one he'd brought for her, though the sergeant had demanded to be first and was befuddled at her refusal. She glanced at each of the other four armored men until her gaze fell upon a young one as pretty as the Ranger. (I rolled randomly for their Charisma scores.) She spoke softly as a lover while holding his gaze upon her beautious orbs (her eyes, fellas ) until the youth was completely smitten. She then began to lead him off into the darkness. As she did, Ynohtna emerged from the trees, naked as a jaybird. As she disappeared into the enclosing arbor, the dryad called over her shoulder to Tumak that he still owed her a white horse.
The sergeant's mind cleared enough to shout to his men to find the one who left with the dryad and bring him back. The sergeant ran off intent on catching the dryad herself. Tumak returned to the keep with Ynohtna, begged off the questions of the Corporal of the Watch and headed straight to their room at the inn. All seemed well until Ynohtna realized that all he now possessed was the sword and shield that Tumak had recovered for him. Though he could replace his armor and most other items, he was quite upset about the half dozen or so healing potions that had, apparently, been left at the dryad's abode. Thus, instead of celebrating the victory, the two of them concocted a plan that nearly destroyed their friendship and got them both killed.
To be continued...
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Thu Nov 30, 2023 2:18 am; edited 10 times in total
Tumak was a bit miffed at being ignored, but didn't want to spoil his friend's fun...the dwarf played the faithful wingman and gave them their privacy. The handsome half-orc Ranger disappeared deeper into the forest with the lovely sylph.
...they were all ears when Tumak told them about a gorgeous elven woman that he and his friend had met in the woods and had some fun with. He even explained that he had been worn out and needed some rest, so had left his friend to have his turn. When questioned, he assured the men that he planned to return for some more of her inviting sweetness and that she had asked him to bring some friends.
She spoke softly as a lover while holding his gaze upon her beautious orbs (her eyes, fellas ) until the youth was completely smitten. She then began to lead him off into the darkness. As she did, Ynohtna emerged from the trees, naked as a jaybird. SirXaris
So, this must be the PG posting you told me to follow, yes?
Damned dryads. Your players no doubt are starting to hate them! Fleecing your characters of their ill-gotten gains to retrieve 'love' smitten fellows.
She'd better watch out. She may press her luck too far. Just wait til someone tires of her shenanigans and sets the forest aflame!
Of course, the elves may have a problem with that...
Tumak . . . remembered the brutish knight, Sir Bluto Sans Pite, who had, along with his fellow knights, squires, and men-at-arms, bullied him and his companions on the road a fortnight previous.
It occurs to me that I forgot the part where the dryad spoke in elven to the elven captain asking him to be her vengence if the dwarf failed to fulfill his part of the bargain. The elf captain agreed since he had initially vouched for the dwarf by summoning the dryad in the first place. He then explained to Tumak what he'd promised the dryad and made sure the dwarf understood the consequences of failing to keep his end of the bargain.
Any Lie for Love
Participating PCs
Tumak Copperbeard(less)- male dwarf Fighter (aka the gnome-goblin);
Ynohtna Noswal - male half-orc Ranger (can't keep himself clothed).
As Ynothna's relief at being ransomed faded, he realized that he had none of his belongings but the sword and shield Tumak had thoughtfully retrieved for him. He was not overly worried about most of his equipment, but he had paid dearly for those healing potions and he desperately needed them for his own survival and that of his adventuring companions. He had to recover them. To that end, the pair of adventurers concocted a plan to lure the dryad away from her tree in order to steal back Ynohtna's treasures.
They managed to convince another group of Sir Bluto's drunken men-at-arms to accompany them into the forest. Once there, they summoned the dryad and she selected the prettiest one and began to lead him off. The drunken sergeant, however, followed them and chopped his man down from behind in a rage at being rejected while Tumak backed away into the darkness. While this was happening, Ynohtna snuck around and approached the dryad's tree. He searched to no avail for an opening. When he heard her running back toward him, he hid and drew his bow. As she approached, the Ranger loosed an arrow directly at her. It sliced her forearm as she ran and she stopped and hid behind another trunk. He lost sight of her until he was hit by an arrow from off to his side and saw that she had fired it. He charged her, but she stepped into the tree and appeared on a branch 20 feet above him. She asked him why he had attacked her and he was unable to resist her faerie charms. She stepped back into the trunk, then reappeared by stepping out of it at its base in front of him. Continuing to coax the truth from him, he panicked at the thought of telling his love that he had wanted to steal his potions back and had attacked her in anger. Instead, he did the only thing his infatuated mind could think of - he lied through his teeth.
Ynohtna explained that his friend, the dwarf Tumak, had convinced him that the dryad was evil and would seek him out and sacrifice him to a demon because the ransom was just a ruse and that the only way to save his life was to kill her. She finally shushed him with a kiss, then assured him that none of that was true. However, she told him that she expected him to make things right now by being the instrument of her wrath against the lying dwarf who had tricked her lover into hurting her. The charmed Ranger readily agreed to do anything the dryad asked. To that end, she insisted that the dwarf's beard be cut off and that he be hanged by his ankles at the edge of the forest within sight of the Keep for one day and one night. Ynohtna's love for this divine creature overcame his hesitation at bringing such harm to his friend and he set out to accomplish her desires.
Tumak returned to the the inn first, but Ynohtna was not far behind. As the dwarf prepared for bed, the Ranger said he was not sleepy and was going out for a walk. So, Tumak fell into a comfortable slumber and Ynohtna made his eventual way to a room with more of Sir Bluto's men-at-arms. He knocked on their door and was about to be punched in the face when he offered them 500 gold pieces to deal with a problem dwarf. Dragging him into their room instead, they asked about the gold. The half-orc produced it immediately, then explained what he wanted from them in exchange. Smiling, they took the money and agreed to do something they would have happily done for free if given the chance.
Ynohtna let them into his room and they surrounded Tumak's bed. Two of them tried to knock him unconscious while the other three held him down. Tumak, instead, woke up and struggled against his grapplers. Unfortunately, for the dwarf, his assailants were too strong and he was knocked out, trussed up, and rolled up in several bedrolls. The party then mounted their horses and headed for the gate. Again, the Corporal of the Watch took the Ranger at his word and allowed the group to exit the Keep. They rode north to the edge of the woods where Tumak was unrolled, and strung up on a tree branch by his ankles. Cursing his kidnappers, he noticed one standing back, not participating, but wearing a mask over his face. The others he recognized as some of Sir Bluto's men. They beat his bound, upside-down form until he was nearly dead, then made to leave. At the last minute, one of the brutes returned and cut off the dwarf's beard saying, "That's no way to leave a dwarf!" They returned to the Keep and Ynohtna accepted their invitation to join them in revelry using the money he had spotted them.
Tumak dangled upside-down, bloody and bruised, from the branch a few feet off the ground. He considered that, at least, they had left him to die with his clothes on, though the blood was filling his brain and making it hard to think. As he pondered his predicament, some kobolds discovered him and began prodding his now swinging form. He was shocked and fearful for more than his life when their blackscaled leader approached and looked him in the face. Tumak recognized the beast as the half-dragon leader of the band he and his friends had finally defeated in the Caves of Chaos. This was largely due to the whip on his hip and the small rapier in his hand. The kobold, however, didn't seem to recognize the dwarf. (He didn't have a beard, after all.)
"What be ye, foul-smelling beast? Fat and red, yes, but good for a feast?"
Thinking as quickly as his pounding brain could manage, Tumak told it that he was a half-gnome, half-goblin. His mother was a gnome and his father was a goblin. He did his best to assure the kobold that he was not tasty at all, but didn't think he was having much luck when an angry female voice shouted at the kobolds to leave him alone. Then the dryad appeared in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees at the forest's edge and threatened to have the trees reach down and pull the kobold's limbs from their bodies. At this, the band scattered in fear, though the blackscaled leader was the last to go and did so with a reptilian sneer.
The dryad then spun the dwarf to face her and sealed her charm with an upside-down kiss. She asked Tumak why he had lied to Ynohtna about her and convinced him to attack her. Desperate to prove his devotion to his soul's perfect mate, Tumak swore that he had nothing to do with the Ranger's attack upon the dryad and that he didn't even know that he was going to attack her. He just knew that Ynohtna wanted his potions back. Convinced of the dwarf's innocence in the matter, the dryad forgave him and made him promise to enact vengence upon the Ranger for his unforgivable scorn. This Tumak readily agreed to do. She released him from his bonds and he began the long trek back to the Keep on foot.
Upon his return, he had a difficult time begging off the questions of of the Corporal of the Watch, but eventually made his way back to the inn. As he opened the door to his room, he heard laughter down the hallway and looked to see Ynohtna emerge from a room full of Sir Bluto's men-at-arms. Spying Tumak in turn, the half-orc drunkenly entered their shared room and welcomed his friend back. When Tumak inquired as to Ynohtna's whereabouts the previous evening, the Ranger explained that he had gone for a walk and ended up drinking with some fellas who invited him to join them with free grog. He pretended to be rather irritated to discover who those drinking friends had been and concerned about the events that had befallen his friend, Tumak. Tumak, however, knew the truth as the dryad had told him that his friend had obeyed her demand for vengeance upon him.
The next day, Tumak sought an audience with Tornamir, the castellan, and accused Ynohtna of kidnapping and physical abuse. Tornamir listened carefully and assured the dwarf that he would have the incident investigated. That evening, Tumak and Ynohtna reveled at the tavern, but Tumak only pretended to drink much. The Ranger, however, tried to drown his guilt in alcohol. When Ynohtna couldn't keep himself upright in the chair any longer, Tumak loaded them both onto steeds stolen from Sir Bluto's men. He found no white steed, but chose a grey that appeared whitish. Mounted, they rode to the gatehouse. Again, he assured the Corporal of the Watch that their late-night excursions were more of their adventures to destroy evil humanoids in Lord Locks' domain and exited without incident. When they were far enough north of the Keep for any witnesses, Tumak pulled the half-orc from his saddle, stripped him naked, bound his wrists and ankles, and tied him to a rope attached to his whitish horse's saddle. Giving the horse a surprising slap upon its rump, he sent it running into the woods, dragging the naked half-orc behind. With a private chortle at the success of his revenge, Tumak returned alone to the Keep.
The horse was finally calmed by the dryad, who eased the Rangers sores a bit with her kiss and calmed his nerves with her lovely gaze. She told him she knew the truth and even returned half of his healing potions since she felt he had been duly chastised for his afront to her love. However, she felt that he still owed her for all the trouble that his attack and lies had caused her. She told him she'd let him go, but that he needed to bring her back a defensive magic item within one month to prove that his promise to never lie to her or harm her again was true. If he failed, she would have her elven friends hunt him down and bring him to her for a permanent punishment. Even had Ynohtna not been magically enchanted with undying love for her at the moment, he would not have hesitated to agree that such a deal was extremely generous.
Returning to the Keep, he was called before Sir Tornamir and questioned about his part in the incident with Tumak. He denied involvement and was released. Later that day, there was quite a ruckus as Sir Bluto and his remaining men angrily prepared to leave the Keep. Just as this was happening, two of Sir Bluto's men-at-arms showed up at the barbican, bloody and nearly dead. Sir Bluto spoke to them, then stormed back to shout at Sir Tornamir. Not long after, however, he returned and the entire troop of over two dozen knights and men-at-arms stormed out the gates. Interestingly, the two adventurers noted that the knight and his men rode east, down the road that ran past the Caves of Chaos then branched, continuing east, but also heading north to Eru Tovar in the lands of the Wolf Nomads.
Sir Bluto and his men didn't leave in any obscurity. They left to the cheering of the crowd that had gathered to watch and that of many of the Keep's guardsmen as well. This was accompanied by the throwing of rotten vegetables and a few sticks and stones by small children. Soon word spread that Sir Bluto had refused to allow Sir Tornamir to question his men over some issue they were involved in. The castellan gave him the choice of submitting his subordinates to his interogation or leaving the Keep. When Sir Bluto learned of the abuse his men had suffered at the hands of the dwarf and half-orc, he had stormed back to demand that Tornamir arrest and punish those two "low-browed, common, pieces of troll excrement." Sir Tornamir stated that he was all too happy to comply as soon as Sir Bluto could arrange for him to interrogate the witnesses. The haughty, selfish knight left the castellan's presence again in a rage, this time leaving the Keep without another interruption.
Tumak and Ynohtna were thanked profusely by every inhabitant of the Keep they met for the next few days and couldn't pay for their own drinks if they'd tried. Under the circumstances, they decided that being the toast of all the fine folks at the Keep for a while was a good reason to forgive and forget that they'd each chosen to save their own hide at the expense of the other.
Now, they needed more of their friends for another adventure.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Sat Aug 29, 2020 12:16 pm; edited 12 times in total
one thing Sir Xaris forgot is how Tumak Copperbeard (at that time Tumak Nobeard) got his long scar across the left eye, all the way down his cheak. It was while I was hanging upside down and the cobolds were standing around me that the half dragon cobold sliced me with his rapier when the Driade tried to chase them away...
Mystic-Scholar wrote:
Hmm. Personally, I don't see Tumak's and Ynohtna's friendship surviving this episode, but then it's not my game.
Oh, well, we'll wait to see what else happens now.
haha, we are roommates and he is one of my best friends :D we sorted it out right away... however he does owe me 1000 gp :D
Welcome, Tumak! Thanks for joining the thread and Canonfire! Introduce yourself to the community properly over in the Welcome to Greyhawk forum so everyone knows we've got a new member.
Those Wretched Kobolds!
Participating PC
Tumak Nobeard - 3rd level male dwarf Fighter;
Ynohtna Noswal - 3rd level male half-orc Ranger;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric.
While Ynohtna searched the merchant stalls for one who could acquire a magical Cloak of Resistance with which to propitiate his vengful love goddess, the dryad, Tumak was again summoned before Sir Tornamir. The castellan informed Tumak that it was going to be quite difficult to ascertain the truth of the incidents without being able to question Sir Bluto's men, who were vital witnesses, and asked him if he wanted to pursue the matter further. Tumak thanked him for his efforts, but explained that it had all been a misunderstanding and that the matter was settled as far as he was concerned. Ynohtna, lacking enough cash to pay for such an item was able to haggle a merchant into accepting a magical sword and a potion of Bull's Strength in exchange. The pleased merchant promised to return to the Keep within one month's time with the magical cloak Ynohtna had requested.
Having settled all pressing business and restored their friendship, the two companions spent the remainder of the day enjoying fine food and drink at the tavern while regaling the locals with only slightly embellished, but highly edited, tales of their adventures in the region. Later in the evening, Blump, their clerical, gnomish friend, returned from visiting friends in the forested hills west of the Keep and joined them at the table. Together, they planned to venture forth again, come the morn, and see what a new day would bring.
Leaving the Keep a little later than they had initially planned, the trio headed into the woods, less fearful of the dryad as they figured they had at least a month's worth of free pass while she waited for their gift to be delivered. They encountered a friendly woodsman here and there and chased off a few wild animals and humanoids, but eventually they found opponents worthy of their focus. In the underbrush ahead, they spied several small humanoids preparing an ambush for them. Tumak noted their green scaly hides and immediately called a challenge and charged. As Blump and Ynohtna followed more cautiously, the kobolds scattered in all directions, fleeing from the angry dwarf with the crescent blade attached to his arm (a scizor). Tumak spied one of the fleeing vermin with darker scales and recognized it as the black-scaled leader of the tribe. He turned on a burst of speed and bulled straight through the brush and branches in his attempt to catch the creature that had scarred his face and embarassed him into pretending to be a half-gnome, half-goblin. He had to kill the creature before it told anyone else about the incident.
The kobold chieftain apparently realized that the dwarf was about to catch up to him, so turned and faced about to accept the charge with his whip and rapier. The dwarf's rage almost blinded him to anything but his prey, but his danger sense kicked in just in time to cause him to duck as he passed by a huge tree. Doing so prevented his head from being struck from his shoulders as a tree limb as thick as his thigh split the air above him. An ogre had somehow been recruited by the kobolds to help them ambush the party! Tumak, however, had no interest in the ogre, but continued on to spit the kobold leader on his scizor. Things looked bad for Tumak then as he faced off with the pint-sized half-dragon because the ogre advanced on him from behind and the five remaining kobolds tribesmen were circling back to engage him along with their chief. Fortunately, Tumak's friends were racing to assist him too.
Fighting defensively until his friends could relieve some of the pressure, Tumak managed to avoid the pointy end of the miniature rapier and learned a rather elven-like dance step while avoiding the trip attempts of the whip all while ducking and blocking the powerful strokes of the ogre's club. Just in time, Ynohtna and Blump, on his war dog, arrived and distracted the ogre. The green-scaled kobolds also arrived and, seeing their chieftain in a fight for his life, dog-piled the doughty dwarf. Despite his encredible strength and the relative weakness of the kobolds, there were just too many of them to out-wrestle and he was borne to the ground. During the struggle, the chieftain stepped up and delivered a coup-de-grace to the dwarf's chest. Fortunately for Tumak, the blow was weak or his armor was true, or his struggles deflected the blow, or a likely combination of the three and divine grace, and he survived... barely. Blump heard his cry of agony, however and hopped from his war dog's back and raced over to aid his dwarven comrade.
As Ynohtna and the war dog sliced and tore the ogre's legs to eventually topple and destroy the beast, Blump dove into the midst of the pile with a spell of healing on his lips. Ignoring the minor blows he received from the entangled kobolds, he administered enough curative magic to Tumak to give him the strength to continue the fight. Between the two, they were able to throw off the pinning kobolds and catch the leader in a steel vice between scizor and axe. Seeing both their leader and their muscle felled by the adventurers, the few, pitiful remnants of the once vicious tribe fled as fast and as far as their short legs could carry them.
Suffering many serious injuries and having finally put an end to one of their most hated rivals, the companions decided to call it a day and returned to the keep with a couple of impressive heads as trophies to add to their collection.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:53 pm; edited 4 times in total
Tumak noted their green scaly hides and immediately called a challenge and charged . . . Tumak, however, had no interest in the ogre, but continued on to spit the kobold leader on his scizor . . .
How does that go? Something about "looking before you leap?"
The relationship of the two imaginary CHARACTERS would not survive this disaster.
I got it, but I've seen role-playing cause rifts between real-life friends, so wanted to point out that they were just having a good time in real-life by beating up each other's PCs. All's good.
And, in the next installment, a brand new player joins the group and suffers trial by fire as he learns just how deadly the Flanaess can be.
The relationship of the two imaginary CHARACTERS would not survive this disaster.
I got it, but I've seen role-playing cause rifts between real-life friends, so wanted to point out that they were just having a good time in real-life by beating up each other's PCs. All's good.
And, in the next installment, a brand new player joins the group and suffers trial by fire as he learns just how deadly the Flanaess can be.
Tumak Copperbeard, the slayer of the Minotaur, the Protector of clerics, the Mighty Duelist, the Penis Collector, the Orc Hewer, the Destroyer of Ogres, the Cave Cleaner, etc.
In his early days chopping some wood.
EDIT: OK can some moderator change the size of the pic?
I've seen role-playing cause rifts between real-life friends . . .
A sad truth and that's why they will never win an Oscar.
The movie Twins? Arnold disses Sly. The movie Demolition Man? Sly disses Arnold. The movie The Expendables? They aren't friends, but competitors. Real life? Friends and business partners.
Need to separate fiction from reality. In playing the game . . . you're making a movie. You're actors, nothing more.
Participating PCs
Ynohtna Noswall - 3rd level male half-orc Ranger;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Tumak Nobeard - 3rd level male dwarf Fighter;
* New Player * Todd - 2nd level male human Cleric from the Thillonrian peninsula.
The trio of adventuring companions answered a new summons from Abdiel, the head priest of Heironeous at the chapel in the keep and discovered that he had a rather impressive-looking guest to introduce to them. Todd was a giant of a man dressed in the armor and wielding the weapons of the barbarians of the cold northeast. Abdiel introduced Todd as a Cleric of Fharlanghn, who was the last known survivor of a group that had traveled across the northern reaches of the Flanaess. Having lost his companions (including his own brother), Todd hoped to join another group of reputable adventurers to continue his exploration of the world beyond his frozen homeland. The three would have happily accepted any competent and trustworthy adventurer into their ranks, but another Cleric was a special treat.
Todd, the Ill-fated
Abdiel also had a few newly brewed healing potions for the PCs for their continued donations and the four planned an early trek to the Caves of Chaos at dawn. When they arrived, they had a choice to make. Having scouted the area previously, they knew that there remained three unexplored caves in the ravine. They had seen bugbears entering and exiting from a copse of trees high on the ravine wall and had witnessed Iuzian Clerics and their undead bodyguards coming and going from the cave at the far end. They also knew of a lower cave within a tangled copse at the upper end of the ravine from which the Goblin Run emerged, but had never had an opportunity to see what might live within. After debating the advantages and disadvantages they might possess with respect to the known forces within the two upper caves, they settled for exploring the unknown.
Upon entering, they noted that the natural cavern split left and right, with the the Goblin Run coming from the right-hand passage. After an extensive and heated argument they wandered left. They discovered that the detritus of bones, excrement, sticks, and leaves covering the floors of the various natural caverns within also hid the ocassional coin of various value. Searching turned up random coinage, but the noise also attracted a nest of four giant rats. These fearless beasts were easily dispatched, but Ynohtna was given a short fright as the bite he suffered tingled with the effects of the disease-ridden saliva of the plague-carrying rodent. Fortunately, his knowledge of herbal remedies allowed him to stave off a serious infection.
To be continued...
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:31 pm; edited 3 times in total
Abdiel introduced Todd as a Cleric of Fharlanghn, who was the last known survivor of a group that had traveled across the northern reaches of the Flanaess . . . beyond his frozen homeland.
Interestingly, the LGG doesn't show Fharlanghn being worshipped in Stonehold, or by the Frost, Snow,Ice Barbarians. That is to say, he doesn't receive any major worship there. An unlikely place to originate a Cleric of Fharlanghn.
Abdiel introduced Todd as a Cleric of Fharlanghn, who was the last known survivor of a group that had traveled across the northern reaches of the Flanaess . . . beyond his frozen homeland.
Interestingly, the LGG doesn't show Fharlanghn being worshipped in Stonehold, or by the Frost, Snow,Ice Barbarians. That is to say, he doesn't receive any major worship there. An unlikely place to originate a Cleric of Fharlanghn.
Where, exactly, is Todd from?
It was a quick choice on my part as the player hadn't time to choose a Greyhawk god he felt best represented his viking-like Cleric. I chose one for this write-up that explained the far-wanderings of this PC without limiting his more realistic choices for replacement PCs.
The Mystery Cave continued
Participating PCs
Ynohtna Noswall - 3rd level male half-orc Ranger;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Tumak Nobeard - 3rd level male dwarf Fighter;
Todd - 2nd level male human Cleric from the Thillonrian peninsula.
Having dispatched the rodent vermin with relative ease, the group continued to explore the numerous natural caverns within the system, searching for lost treasure while keeping an eye out for any other hungry surprises these uneven pits might hold. That was fortunate as Ynohtna noticed the ceiling in the far corner of a cavern he was searching begin to move and shift in time to jump clear as it fell to the floor in the spot he'd just vacated. Surprisingly, the blob reached out and grabbed him with an acidic tendril which held on with unnatural strength. Ynohtna struggled valiantly, but lost the fight to free himself from the grip of the greyish blob as his companions raced to his rescue. Blump grabbed ahold of the half-orc right through the viscous ooze while Tumak and Todd hurled flasks of oil into its midst. The Ranger sliced a hole with his dagger and the Cleric pulled with all his might and they were successful to a degree - Ynohtna emerged with only some tendrils still grasping him. The constriction and acid were taking their toll, however, and the ooze was grasping at Blump and his war dog as well. Lighting a torch from his pack (which hadn't been needed yet as the Clerics had been making liberal use of their Light orisons), Todd hurled it onto the slimy, grey exudation. It immediately erupted in flame, but refused to lessen its grasp.
Tumak remained back from the oily conflagration and maintained a watchful vigil against the possible attack of other opponents from the two entrances/exits in the cavern and the very walls, ceiling and floor. Such caution was rewarded as he also just avoided having another ooze drop upon him. It did manage to violently grab ahold of him with an acidic pseudopod, however, much as Ynohtna had been attacked. The Ranger managed to free himself from the ooze's grip and ran to assist his dwarven friend while Todd continued to lend the strength of his sword-arm to the gnome and his dog. As the flames died on the ooze, the warriors noted that it seemed completely unharmed by the fire. They became a bit worried as the damage they dealt it seemed paltry, though more harmful than the flame. Once the oozes grappled a victim, they attempted to envelope it, but the adventurers fought back with muscle and steel and managed to avoid being completely engulfed again for a time. Winning completely free of the monstrosities, however, proved difficult.
While struggling against the entanglement of the acidic ooze, Tumak could only watch in horror as only he noticed a furry hulk emerge from the tunnel they had not yet entered. It lumbered with unexpected speed up behind their new clerical ally and raised itself upon its back legs. This was an owlbear larger than any the experienced Fighter had yet seen! Before he could catch his breath to cry a warning, it grappled Todd in its clawed forelegs, crushed the life from him, and snapped his head off in one crunch of its razor-sharp beak! Blump turned to see the beast dragging Todd's body back into its cave, but could do nothing and his war dog had just been enveloped by the ooze! Tumak and Ynohtna were both caught by the other grey ooze and could do nothing but struggle against it's grip.
Blump, though he gave it everything he had, couldn't pull his dog free of the ooze and when its body stopped its struggle, Blump chose to swallow his tears and run to the aid of the friends who still lived. The half-orc had been enveloped by the other ooze and though Blump and Tumak hacked at it until it dissolved into a pile of weak acid on the cavern floor, they were too late to save the life of their friend. Ynohtna, half-orc Ranger, and Todd, human Cleric of Farlangh, had fought their last fight. They knew they lacked the strength to face that giant owlbear, but they could take the half-orc's body with them and see it got a proper burial.
Together, they fled the mystery cave to the relative safety of the ravine itself, but they did not stop there. They ran all the way to the pallisaded watchtower east of the road where the dozen soldiers stationed within threw open the gates and helped them inside. As the surviving pair rested and healed under the protective watch of the Keep's soldiers, they nearly despaired at the loss of so many of their compatriots and pets. While resting, a mounted patrol lead by none other than Figolwren, Sir Tornamir's elven advisor, stopped by for a rest on its way back from a weeklong survey of Lord Locks' demesne. Tumak had asked his clerical friend and Abdiel about the possibility of a spell that would regrow his beard, but they said such magic was not within their purview. Figolwren, however, admitted that he could concoct a spell or potion that could cause the dwarf's beard to grow back out again very quickly, but that it might take a few days. This brightened Tumak's mood considerably and, once healed by Blump's magic, the pair of demi-humans made their way back to the Keep. Their first stop was to see Abdiel to explain the loss of the Cleric of Farlangh.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:47 pm; edited 3 times in total
It was a quick choice on my part as the player hadn't time to choose a Greyhawk god he felt best represented his viking-like Cleric.
Given the limitations caused by his imprisonment, Vatun would have been an interesting choice. And the search for the Five Blades of Corusk would be a great reason for traveling the Flanaess.
It was a quick choice on my part as the player hadn't time to choose a Greyhawk god he felt best represented his viking-like Cleric.
Given the limitations caused by his imprisonment, Vatun would have been an interesting choice. And the search for the Five Blades of Corusk would be a great reason for traveling the Flanaess.
I'm just saying . . .
Yes, had I thought of it, that would have been a good idea. But Vatun is a valid option for the player's replacement PC, who will be Todd's twin brother, so I wanted him to have that option as one more chance to differenciate the two PC. I figured Farlangh wasn't really one the player would consider for his character.
I have always loved owlbears as a creature. Never before DMed an enounter with a grey ooze (to my memory) in over 20 yrs of gaming, though. I never knew they were so damned tough! I will have to refamiliarize myself with their stats (at least, in 1 and 2e).
Sad loss to the party. Sorry fellas, but an owlbear's gotta eat, too.
I have always loved owlbears as a creature. Never before DMed an enounter with a grey ooze (to my memory) in over 20 yrs of gaming, though. I never knew they were so damned tough! I will have to refamiliarize myself with their stats (at least, in 1 and 2e).
Sad loss to the party. Sorry fellas, but an owlbear's gotta eat, too.
-Lanthorn
I almost TPK'd a party way back in college with that same combination. Eight party members entered the mystery cave. One PC with two hit points remaining carried three unconscious and four PC dead bodies out to their tethered horses.
Participating PCs
Ynohtna Noswal - 3rd level male half-orc Ranger;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Tumak Nobeard - 3rd level male dwarf Fighter.
Sitting in the tavern reminiscing about the adventures they had enjoyed with their half-orc friend before his death, Tumak and Blump related the tale of their daring foray into the swamp not that far agone. The tale began with sober sadness, but grew through the evening into one of drunken one-upmanship.
As Tumak began the tale, Blump admitted having to be convinced to risk trudging into the mire along the banks of the Deepstil after the rumors he'd heard from the folk of the Keep. Challenging the bravery of his clan, Tumak and Ynohtna had coaxed the leary gnome to brave the sodden challenges within and the trio crept as stealthily as possible into the mist.
Though the fog that shrouded the swamp was generally a natural occurance in the mornings and at certain times during the seasons, it was undoubtedly now quite unnatural as it remained perpetually throughout the day and night. Visibility was low and the trees still standing were dead or dying. The three adventurers slogged into the morass of swamp grass and water, hanging onto an ocassional tree. They had to keep moving or they would slowly sink into the muck and likely lose their footgear. Their first surprise was a half-dozen dead bodies that rose from the muck and water grasping at their legs and trying to pull them down to rather unpleasant deaths. These proved vulnerable to Blump's power to channel positive energy, though, so the encounter went successfully for the living. Shortly thereafter, they were accosted by over twice as many fleshless undead who crumbled to dust as Blump was prepared to repeat his divine feat more quickly this time. As they continued, they had to guard against poisonous snakes that swam stealthily toward them and more assaults by rotting corpses rising to assault them from the soggy vegetation they trod upon. It appeared to the group that this area was infested with the unliving. So far, it appeared that skeletons and zombies outnumbered the natural wildlife.
That thought was interrupted by the sighting of a hooded head peering at them from behind the Y of a dead tree's split trunk. When they called a greeting, it disappeared. They trailed it, but again, it disappeared as they approached. Stopping to get their bearings, they spied a giant rodent, much like the ones they had battled in the kobold's warrens. Not pleased by the sight, Blump placed a rounded bullet in his sling and let it fly. His aim was true, but the bullet seemed to bounce of the rat's skull with minimal effect. It did, however, move out of sight behind some swamp grass on a tuft separated from the party by about 15 feet of shallow water. Watching the spot for the disease-ridden vermin to reappear, they saw instead a hooded man stand as if from a crouch. Without explanation, his hands were clawed and covered in course black hair while his face was that of a giant rat!
"Changling! Shapeshifter!" they called as blades were drawn to confront the demon advancing on their position. With a sneer upon its face, the wererat strode confidently through the two-foot deep swamp while drawing a rapier and a long dagger from its belt. The party knew they could not outrun an opponent in the marshy wilderness of these baleful bogs, so stood their ground and met the fiend toe-to-toe. The blades of Blump and Tumak sliced through the creature's clothing, but drew no blood from its flesh. It's blades, however, dealt the trio several piercing wounds before Ynohtna's falchion opened the cocky beast's midsection deeply enough to allow it's entrails to peek through. Shocked at this developement, the ratman turned and dove into the swamp. Changing to rat form in midair before the wondering eyes of the demi-humans, it fled before the magical power of the Ranger's two-handed scimitar. Realizing their potential peril, the trio wisely decided to make their way back to the more solid ground of the Keep. Once back on terra firma, they determined not to assail the denizens of the swamp again with out more assistance and a plan of retreat.
The tale ended with mugs raised round about in honor of the bravery of the half-orc Ranger who had saved the lives of his two friends that day.
Shananana (satyr) and Rock Hammerhand Boulderbeard (goliath) enjoy the tales of a half-orc ranger (Ynohtna) during their stay at the Keep.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Sat Aug 29, 2020 12:31 pm; edited 5 times in total
The next day, the two surviving members of the latest assault on the Caves of Chaos received a summons from Abdiel. Hurriedly, they dressed and made their way through the busy morning streets of the Keep to the chapel of Heironeous. There, they had left the body of their Ranger friend with the good priests for proper interment. An acolyte led them into a side room for a private audience with Head Priest Abdiel who attended to them without delay.
With a hopeful expression upon his face, he began the explanation of the reason for his summons by offering to Raise Ynohtna from the dead! This, of course, got the pair's attention and immediately dispelled the gloom that hung about them. Abdiel continued the explanation thusly: Years ago, when Lord Locks established the Keep and appointed Abdiel to preside over the chapel within, Abdiel's superior in Perrenland had gifted the young priest with a scroll with a single Raise Dead spell inscribed upon it. This spell was to be used only in extreme emergency (likely for Lord Locks or himself, it was expected). But, recent divinations have warned Abdiel that his own life is in great danger and that the best chance of avoiding death at the hands of an assassin was for one of these two brave demi-humans to find the evil one, issue a divine challenge, and defeat him in fair combat before all. If they fail, Abdiel was certain that he would be slain and one of his subordinates, if they survived, would have to use the scroll on him anyway, so he would be happy to use it on their friend if they would defeat the assassin for him.
The first task would be to find him. All Abdiel could provide by way of description was that the assassin would be from the west, that he would bear a vicious scar, and that he would speak not a word. He also explained that the challenge must be public so that the glory of Heironeous would shine upon them and assure his champion's victory. So, they searched the marketplace, the inn, the smithy, the stables, and the various merchantile establishments in the Keep unsuccessfully until finally arriving at the tavern.
As their eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting, they noted several off-duty soldiers of the Keep, a few common patrons, and a darkly cloaked individual eating a bowl of soup in a corner booth. Being the only Baklunish individual they had not stopped to question among the many in the Keep that day, they approached his booth, introduced themselves, and asked him his business in the Keep. The cloaked figure ignored them. Irked, Tumak stepped forward and pulled the bowl away from the eating man. Before depositing the bowl and its contents anywhere else, he froze in place as he felt a piercing pressure between his legs. Carefully stealing a glance downward he noted that the cloaked man's arm ended in a pointy dagger which was pressing firmly upward into his crotch. Changing his mind, the dwarf returned the bowl to its proper place and took a slow step back.
The silent man was not cooperative, however, and increased the pressure exerted with the blade instead of lessening it and Tumak felt a trickle of blood run down his leg from a very delicate portion of his body in that region. As he did, he cocked his head enough that Tumak caught sight of an old tear on his throat that had been hidden by the cloak. Infuriated, the stocky Fighter called for the attention of the room and declared the cloaked figure to be an assassin sent from the west to murder the righteous and beloved priest of Heironeous, Abdiel. He then issued a public challenge to be attended in half an hour before the chapel itself. The cloaked man nodded his acceptance while continuing to enjoy his soup and an off-duty Keep sergeant verified that the challenge was legal, but that the man had committed no crime anyone was aware of, so he couldn't just be arrested on the spot.
Tumak Nobeard
To be continued...
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:14 am; edited 4 times in total
Not to mention the fact that you have poor, 4th level Tumak facing off against a 10th level assassin!
Not quite.
Several of my players showed up and wanted to game while I was in the middle of typing up the bit about the assassin. Can you believe they are that enthusiastic about dying again?
While a crowd gathered to accompany Tumak and the sergeant to the dueling grounds before the inner barbican, Blump remained behind in the tavern to keep an eye on the assassin. The other off-duty soldiers were doing the same thing, but the assassin seemed to be interested only in finishing his dinner. The sergeant went over the rules of a legal duel with Tumak to be sure he understood them as enforced in this part of the Flanaess. Basically, having issued the challenge, Tumak had the right to choose whether the fight would be to first blood, second blood, or death. Once the duel begins, anything goes as long as neither combatant tries to flee. Flight (i.e. any definition of the word) is cheating and would mean automatic loss. It is also unlawful for any other party to assist either combatant. Suddenly, Tumak had a clearer idea of why one of Abdiel's acolytes had handed him a potion of Bull's Strength and a potion of Bear's Endurance as a free gift when they left the chapel on their search for the assassin.
When the assassin finished his soup, he casually rose and made his way to the dueling grounds. Blump watched carefully for any indication that he added a potion to his soup or cast a spell from a scroll, so he was not surprised when he caught the darkly cloaked rogue surreptiously down a couple of potions of his own during the walk over. When the challengee arrived at the indicated time and place, Tumak repeated his challenge for the benefit of the crowd decreeing that Heironeous demanded that the would-be assassin's guilt be demonstrated now at this appointed time and place and that second blood (a most dangerous blow as demonstrated by reducing an opponent to zero hit points) would prove the rightness of his challenge. As the accused stood his ground in the center of a circle of onlookers, a scrawny, bespectacled half-elf stepped forward and addressed the crowd on the assassin's behalf.
"Sheep of the Keep! You who huddle beneath the illusory protection of the flumph who calls himself Lord Locks! Behold, the Executioner of Pashas' Pashions, Passer of Divine Winds, Plague of the West, Bane of the East, the Utterly Unvulnerable, Ekbir Gionni Pomarj! He has never failed to slay any challenger and will cut the neck of this puny pile of dirt along with the stubble that remains of his pitifully juvenile beard!"
Incensed at the affront to his friend, Blump stood forth and extolled the virtues of the valiant Dwarf.
"Behold, my friends, the Tamer of the Wilds, the Mutilator of Minotaurs, Oviraptor of Orcs, Grinder of Goblin Bones, who puts the kibosh on kobolds, and gnashes gnolls for breakfast: Tumak, Wannabe, Copperbeard!"
At this, the crowd went wild and the dwarf downed his potions before donning his scizore and hefting his shield. Meanwhile, Ekbir Gionni Pomarj opened his cloak to reveal a falchion upon his back and a coiled spiked chain on his hip. It was the chain that he drew forth and began to twirl easily and expertly as he sized his opponent up. The two then closed quickly and fell to blows. First blood went to the challenger as he ducked the strike of the barbed chain and slashed the assassin's arm with his gladiatorial blade. The Ekbirian...
Here the half-elf interjected to point out that the assassin originally hailed from Sterich as Gionni Cougar, but dropped his surname when his aliases were added because he thought it was too pretentious.
Ahem.
The assassin spun around Tumak's shield and struck him a staggering blow in the back of the head with his unconventional weapon. Blood had been spilled on both sides and it did not end there. Gionni Pomarj deftly danced around to avoid Tumak's advance, striking at his feet to trip him and managing to disarm him once. The dwarf's powerful stance, however, prevented his opponent from knocking him prone and finally Tumak managed to stamp on the end of the chain and nearly jerk the assassin to the ground. Instead, Gionni Cougar used his forward momentum to bull rush the surprised dwarf and knock him back a few feet, freeing his weapon from beneath the dwarf's boot. Just then, with his back quite close to the encircling crowd, Tumak heard Blump shout, "Behind you, Tumak!" Spinning on his heel, the Fighter prepared for an attack from an unexpected ally of the coniving cheat, but faced only startled commoners and soldiers, none with any apparent weapon in hand. Before the dwarf could come to an understanding of what had just happened, the ventriliquist/assassin snapped his spiked chain around Tumak's neck. The sneak attack had come from behind afterall.
As the chain was pulled taught, the dwarf rolled backward with the momentum and allowed his body to fall into a backward somersault. Pushing off the ground with his arms, he flung his legs upward and into the chest of the assassin who had stepped forward to plunge a dagger into the dwarf's chest. The assassin flew backward, losing his grip on the chain and crashed to the ground. The dwarf unwrapped the chain from his neck while advancing on his prone opponent, but the silent assassin spun to his feet while drawing his falchion and met him again in head-to-head combat. This time around, however, the dwarf was unwilling to waste any more time. He took the rogue's first strike hard upon his shield and bulled his way forward, overrunning the assassin and kicking the sword from his prone fingers. Tumak took a sharp stab to the calf from another quickly drawn dagger, but used the weight of his falling body to drive the blade of his scizore into Gionni's side as he did. A look of surprised defeat was the last thing Tumak saw in the assassin's eyes before they closed in unconsciousness.
Rising with difficulty on one leg, Tumak the Victorious was helped from the site by Blump and Abdiel himself. Blue-liveried soldiers carried Ekbir Gionni Pomarj to the dungeon after a Heironean acolyte administered minor healing to prevent his death. Abdiel spent the next day returning Ynohtna to life while Blump went in search of a Highfolk merchant that could replace his lost riding war dog and Tumak (after accepting lots of healing from Blump and the Heironean acolytes) accepted an invitation from Figolwren to see about repairing the damage done to his once-proud copper-colored facial adornment.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Mon Oct 02, 2023 11:04 pm; edited 10 times in total
How in the heck did a 3' tall Dwarf kick a sword out of a 6' tall Assassin's hand?
The dwarf bowled into the assassin and knocked him down. Technically, it was a bullrush, but I called it an overrun. When the assassin landed on his back, Tumak kicked the sword from his hand. And, dwarves are four feet tall.
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Okay, I'm going to ask because, expect for a Google which offered a Pokemon "scizor," I have no idea what a "scizor" is!
Waiting . . .
Yeah, I had no idea either and had to look it up when my player said he wanted to use one. It's a gladiator weapon that has a cuff that fits over the wielder's forearm and a half-moon shaped blade sticking out the other end. It is a slashing weapon.
It seems the weapon was mostly used for fighting against the net, the retiarii. Makes one wonder how effective it would be against more "standard" weapons . . . in reality.
Glad, I was able to catch up on your tread. Blump Butter! Got to say the world of Oerth has some names that had to be ridiculed by all present during his or hers childhood.
Glad, I was able to catch up on your tread. Blump Butter! Got to say the world of Oerth has some names that had to be ridiculed by all present during his or hers childhood.
Participating PCs
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Tumak Copperbeard - 4th level male dwarf Fighter;
Ynohtna Noswal - 4th level male half-orc Ranger.
Disappointed that only the three of them were available to go adventuring at this time, the three demi-human friends argued about whether they should return to face the over-sized owlbear in the ooze cave or make a foray against the cave of the bugbears. It was unanimously agreed that the cave of the Iuzian Clerics and their undead minions was to be avoided until they could muster additional forces with which to make a strong assault. Eventually, Tumak gave in and agreed to try their luck against a tribe of bugbears. They had only fought real ones in small groups of three or less and those hadn't presented these three with a serious threat to their lives. Being eaten by the giant owlbear, however, was a very real possibility in everyone's mind.
Traveling east along the road proved quite adventurous this day as they were attacked by two different groups of orcs and one band of over two dozen goblins. They did manage to defeat all three ambushes and felt enormous relief when they failed to recognize the colors being flown by the group of a dozen mounted men-at-arms and knights who caught up to them from the direction of the keep. The one group they did not want to encounter on an isolated portion of the road was Sir Bluto and his cronies. This group, however, was friendly to Lord Locks and was making their way from Perrenland to join him in the east in his fight against the forces of the Old One. The party wished them well and continued until arriving at the pallisaded fort just east of the ravine holding the Caves of Chaos. Resting just long enough to chat with the ten mercenaries paid by the castellan to hold it in the name of the Keep, they then crossed the road due west and made their way to the copse of trees hiding the cave of the bugbears.
The warriors were not fooled by the welcome signs posted outside the entrance in various languages as they had been warned that the hobgoblins had attempted a similar ruse. Sneaking in, Tumak detected no stonework traps, so advanced to the T intersection which he determined by now must be a common theme among the original architects of the Caves. Glancing left and right, he noted the dancing light of a fire around the corner in a room a short distance down the hallway and a staircase leading up. To the right, he noted another short tunnel ending in another T intersection. Blump then convinced the others to retreat back out and cut some small trees in the thicket to use as longspears.
"How long?" asked Tumak.
"Twice as long as a man!" Blump replied.
"Some men are longer than others," noted Ynohtna.
"I see yer mother's been telling ye stories about me again!" the gnome retorted.
While the friends were thus engaged in banter and cutting longspears, Tumak spied a bugbear attempting to sneak out the entrance to the cave behind them. Crying a warning to his friends, he advanced to engage the brute. Blump and Ynohtna quickly followed, but so, too, did two more bugbears. The dwarf was anxious to protect his warpony that he had tethered near the cavern entrance. He had spent a pretty penny on that piece of horseflesh and saddle, even going so far as to pay for chainmail barding to protect it. The gnome and half-orc summoned their war dogs as well and the fight quickly turned against the goblinoids as one fell to their flanking foes. One retreated back into the cave entrance, but the other was cut off and cut down by the Ranger and two of the dogs. Tumak followed on the heals of the retreating bugbear as it called for aid. Blump, however, managed to convince his dwarven friend that barreling into the unknown in such a situation would likely end in a trap or an ambush. Tumak hesitated long enough for the Cleric to heal him. Unfortunately, he did not notice the bugbear chieftain and other bugbears sneaking up on him from the other direction. Taking a surprisingly well-placed strike to the ribs from a slash out of the darkness, the dwarf hustled the gnome before him and raced back into the dim light of the thicket.
Outside again, they were joined by the Ranger and the three war dogs. They made a crescent line to receive the over-sized goblins as they emerged from the darkness of their lair. The first two charged straight for the line, but the chieftain found a small hole and stepped through to flank the dwarf. Tumak was a bit disconcerted as this large bugbear seemed to blend exceptionally well with the shadowy forest around them. As the battle raged, more and more bugbears emerged to join the fray until about a dozen had shown themselves. They had the numbers to outflank the adventurers and they proved quite capable of striking where it counted, so the three companions elected to Run!
[I gave each of the regular 3 HD bugbears a single level of Rogue (Thief). Thus, they all had nicely high Stealth scores and the Sneak Attack ability. Anytime a PC got flanked, the bugbears' hits caused an additional 1d6 hit points of damage. This quickly took a serious toll on their reserves once they began to be encircled.]
Blump ran first, but was not very fast. Ynohtna and the dogs outdistanced the gnome quickly. Tumak followed the gnome, but was cut down from behind when the faster bugbears caught up to them. As the Cleric was caught, he commanded his war dog to stay with the Ranger, but the Ranger sent his own war dogs back to protect his gnomish friend while he continued to run. Blump successfully cast Sanctuary, but two of the bugbears directly behind him managed to maintain their focus on running him down. Fortunately, one of them was intercepted by a wardog, so only one continued to attack him while others circled him and the war dogs to continue their pursuit of the half-orc. Two of the bugbears stopped to grab the unconscious and bleeding dwarf and carry him back to their cave.
Desparate to prevent another comrade-in-arms from being captured and likely eaten by the humanoids, Blump then cast his daily Invisibility spell (a special gift from his trickster deity) and successfully eluded the one bugbear intent on crushing his skull. He then channeled positive energy and healed both of Ynohtna's wardogs, himself, Tumak and a few of the bugbears that had taken damage. This kept the dogs fighting, distracting several of the goblinoids, and healed the dwarf sufficiently to bring him back to consciousness. Recognizing his current predicament, Tumak surprised the bugbears bearing him and squirmed from their grasp. Dropping to his feet, he fled to the cave mouth where his warpony was tethered. As he deftly sliced the tether holding the war pony and vaulted into the saddle, the invisible Blump channeled healing energy again to heal some of the wounds he had suffered in the attempt. The war pony was able to out-distance the bugbears and Tumak disappeared out of the thicket, down the ravine, and eastward to the pallisaded fort.
Slipping away invisibly, Blump followed the bugbears chasing his Ranger friend. Ynohtna and Blump's war dog ran to ground when they caught an opportunity to do so out of sight of their pursuers. The bugbears went into stealth mode and continued their search. The Ranger lost sight of them as well and waited a brief period before making a break for it. The bugbears caught sight of him and the chase was on again. The Ranger had to curve around to avoid running straight through the line of pursuit, which had nearly surrounded him when he'd been hiding and one of the bugbears caught the wardog, though it was unable to stop it. Ynohtna outlasted the humanoids in the 600 yard race through briar and thicket to the pallisaded fort east of the ravine, arriving shortly after Tumak upon his war pony. Blump, however, had to travel slowly in order to avoid giving away his invisible position. Unfortunately, his prankster nature took over when he spied one bugbear nearly attack another when it mistook its mate for a sneaky enemy. Garl Glittergold's Cleric tried to throw his voice and insult one of the bugbears, but he had no skill in the trick and only managed to alert the two to his position. He was lucky in managing to avoid being caught by them, however, and wisely elected to avoid any more bugbears he came across while making his way to the fort.
Resting under the protection of the wooden walls and mercenaries, Blump used the remainder of his healing abilities to bring the party up to speed. They then settled in for the night on the second floor of the central tower. Half of the mercenaries patrolled the wall-tops while the other half, their two war dogs, and Blump's war dog slept on the first floor. When a sentry called the alarm as a dozen bugbears emerged from the woods surrounding the fort, the dwarf reflected on the fortune that brought the Ring of Sustenance into his possession. Because of its powerful magic, he required only two hours of sleep each night and had donned his armor already. The Ranger was trained to sleep in his armor, but Blump and the mercenaries were not. Blump had slept in his armor anyway and was fatigued during the fight as a result, but the five sleeping mercenaries simply grabbed their tower shields and ran to man the walls.
The bugbears had failed in their attempt to sneak into the fort, but attempted to climb the walls en masse. That was no mean feat, though, with defenders at the top stabbing at them with spears. The most fearful twist, however, was the appearance of the bugbear leader mounted upon the very owlbear that had slain, and presumably eaten, their clerical friend from the far northeast! Raising up on its hind legs, it brought its forelimbs down upon the wooden gates of the fort, cracking the wooden brace. While the Ranger climbed to the top of the tower to target climbing bugbears as they presented their heads above the parapet, the Fighter and Cleric raced down the ladder and out to the front gates. There, they fortified the brace with a metal chain from the Ranger's backpack. Tumak and Blump then climbed to the wall-walk and joined the guards there while the three war dogs bristled and barked at the beast on the other side of the gates.
This battle lasted some time and over half of the mercenaries fell to the bugbear assault, but the fortified gates withstood the owlbear's assault (suffering 89 hp damage out of 100). Nine of the bugbears were brought down before the leader called off the attack and slunk back into the woods. Highlights of the battle included the dwarf running along the catwalk and jumping from it onto the back of a bugbear that had made it down to the courtyard, brining it down with a powerful chop at the end of that leaping charge. He even managed to land on his feet. Blump suffered a couple of hits from the magically returning handaxe hurled by the chieftain, but caused him to miss its return on one ocassion with a well-placed bullet from his sling. This resulted in the bugbear leader ignominiously dismounting the owlbear and running into the road to get his handaxe before returning to remount and rejoin the battle. One of the bugbears managed to get into the courtyard alive and slam its morningstar into the chain fortifiying the gates. This critical hit caused more damage in a single stroke than had any of the owlbear's hits. Tumak and the dogs interfered with his continued attempts, however, and prevented the owlbear from gaining entrance. The bugbear chieftain did leave his mount and scale the walls himself, but, seeing his force decimated, called a retreat and missed that opportunity to confront the dwarf scizore to scizore again. Tumak did notice the familiar weapon protruding from the bugbear's right arm, however, and stored that information away for a future encounter.
Having sent their bugbear assailants packing, the heroes patched up the wounded mercenaries and managed to prevent any from dying. They manned the watch the remainder of the night and used their healing spells, powers, and potions on themselves and the mercenaries come the morn. While recouperating, Ynohtna pondered his next encounter with the dryad. He had received the Cloak of Resistance from the dwarven merchant (Thardfer) who returned from his successful trip to Perrenland on the half-orc's behalf. He was going to have to search her out again to keep his promise, but at what risk? Was she likely to keep the spirit of their bargain or might she try to take advantage of him again? Best plan it out carefully, he reasoned.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:27 am; edited 9 times in total
"How long?" asked Tumak.
"Twice as long as a man!" Blump replied.
"Some men are longer than others," noted Ynohtna.
"I see yer mother's been telling ye stories about me again!" the gnome retorted.
I gotta admit that I snickered at that little exchange, too. Seems I've played a gnome in the exact same lewd way.
So...just gotta ask...how does one train an owlbear to use as a mount? Wondering how the bugbears pulled this off, assuming no magic, unless they somehow reared the thing since it was a fledgling. Hmmm...
Also have to admit that I didn't see a siege coming! Interesting turn of events.
Do bugbears have the same inherent stealth ability in 3e as they do in 1 and 2e? I think in those editions they have something like a 1-3 out of d6 chance to surprise...
So...just gotta ask...how does one train an owlbear to use as a mount? Wondering how the bugbears pulled this off, assuming no magic, unless they somehow reared the thing since it was a fledgling. Hmmm...
There are several versions of owlbears here. I got the idea from the siege owlbear, but didn't want such a powerful opponent. I had increased this one to 7 HD since the party was third and fourth level. Since it is size Large, I figured it was big enough to be ridden by a size Medium bugbear and that was just the thing to set the bugbears apart from the other humanoids in the caves. Yes, I assumed the bugbear chieftain had raised and trained the owlbear from its infancy.
Also have to admit that I didn't see a siege coming! Interesting turn of events.
I decided that the bugbears weren't ones to sit back and wait for the adventurers to return, so they planned a midnight assault - after the PCs had used all their healing magic for the day.
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Do bugbears have the same inherent stealth ability in 3e as they do in 1 and 2e? I think in those editions they have something like a 1-3 out of d6 chance to surprise...
I think Blump Butter should have access to the Grease spell. What a racially tolerate group a gnome and dwarf working with a half-orc. Never liked the term half-orc. Which half is orc?
Nice siege I hate adventures were the baddies are just sitting around waiting for someone to come by.
And, I forgot an important portion of the initial fight with the bugbears, which I'll edit into the story above, but add here so you don't have to read through the whole post above to find. (The edited parts are in italics.)
Bugbears... edit
Blump ran first, but was not very fast. Ynohtna and the dogs outdistanced the gnome quickly. Tumak followed the gnome, but was cut down from behind when the faster bugbears caught up to them. As the Cleric was caught, he commanded his war dog to stay with the Ranger, but the Ranger sent his own war dogs back to protect his gnomish friend while he continued to run. Blump successfully cast Sanctuary, but two of the bugbears directly behind him managed to maintain their focus on running him down. Fortunately, one of them was intercepted by a wardog, so only one continued to attack him while others circled him and the war dogs to continue their pursuit of the half-orc. Two of the bugbears stopped to grab the unconscious and bleeding dwarf and carry him back to their cave.
Desparate to prevent another comrade-in-arms from being captured and likely eaten by the humanoids, Blump then cast his daily Invisibility spell (a special gift from his trickster deity) and successfully eluded the one bugbear intent on crushing his skull. He then channeled positive energy and healed both of Ynohtna's wardogs, himself, Tumak and a few of the bugbears that had taken damage. This kept the dogs fighting, distracting several of the goblinoids, and healed the dwarf sufficiently to bring him back to consciousness. Recognizing his current predicament, Tumak surprised the bugbears bearing him and squirmed from their grasp. Dropping to his feet, he fled to the cave mouth where his warpony was tethered. As he deftly sliced the tether holding the war pony and vaulted into the saddle, the invisible Blump channeled healing energy again to heal some of the wounds he had suffered in the attempt. The war pony was able to out-distance the bugbears and Tumak disappeared out of the thicket, down the ravine, and eastward to the pallisaded fort.
we gamed tonight...and boy did we do good... I just trained a huge spider to be my pet and added another ornament beside the Minotaur skull to my appearance :) Sir Xaris will tell you about it soon...
Finally! We managed to get back together for a few hours of gaming. We cut the role-playing to a minimum this time as we wanted to kill something. (It's been too long - withdrawal hurts. )
Are you sure you want to go after that giant owlbear in the lair of the oozes?
Participating PCs:
Tumak Copperbeard - 4th level male dwarven Fighter;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Ynohtna Noswal - 4th level male half-orc Ranger.
The three adventurers returned to the Keep to better equip themselves for their next incursion. Unfortunately, the dwarf still insisted he had no need for a dagger (or other short, piercing weapon). They then returned to the Caves without incident. There were three caves remaining, which they had not yet fully explored: the high cave of the Iuzian Clerics and their undead minions; another high cave hidden in a tangled copse of trees that housed the bugbear tribe; and the low cave, also hidden within a small copse from which the Goblin Run emerged, in which the owlbear laired. A short argument ended in the decision to deal with the owlbear first, though it was decided with no little trepidation.
The demi-humans found the trail that the owlbear must use to exit the copse surrounding his lair's entrance and advanced to the cave mouth. There, Tumak tied his war pony and the three looked carefully to see if any traps had been set. They had become wary of entering an enemy's lair without first doing so, even if that enemy was an owlbear and some oozes. Finding none, however, they cautiously entered. Electing to explore west (the direction of the owlbear's lair, they quickly caught sight of two bugbears at the limit of their darkvision. These brutes were aiming crossbows at them and soon firing them in their direction. Both bolts zipped by harmlessly and the dwarf charged. The half-orc followed more cautiously. The gnome sent his war dog to help the dwarf, but remained at the cave mouth watching the party's back to prevent the expected ambush.
Tumak was smacked by one of the bugbears' hefty morningstars, but the other was dragged down by Blump's war dog. Tumak quickly cut the life from the prone goblinoid while the other yelled in its beastly tongue for someone, or something, to 'Wake up!' Ynohtna arrived to assist in this battle, but it proved more difficult to defeat the second bugbear as it fought defensively and backed toward the owlbear's lair.
Just then, Blump spied a glistening spot on the ceiling in the direction from which the stream came. He noted that it was moving toward him and covered the extent of the ten foot wide passageway's roof. He called a warning to his friends and stepped outside the cavern in the hopes of luring the ooze outside for a battle. Blump's war dog immediately came at his call and exited the cavern in advance of the ooze. The half-orc barely avoided having the greyish blob drop upon him by diving out into the brambles near the gnome. Tumak, the dwarf, was not so fortunate, however. The ooze dropped upon the hapless Fighter and engulfed him completely.
The Cleric stood paralyzed while trying to remember what methods worked and didn't work to damage the other oozes they battled. Tumak tried to swing his scizor, but found it impossible with the thick ooze engulfing his entire body. The Ranger drew out a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds and drank it to heal the vicious wound inflicted upon him by the bugbear that had been guarding the cave. Tumak was taking some severe damage, however, as the ooze constricted him and ate away at his exposed flesh with its acid.
Regretting not purchasing a dagger, but refusing to admit such failure, Tumak forced the end of his scizor out of the ooze through strength of arm. Once his arm was free of the constricting miasma, he was free to flail against it with his slashing weapon. He did have to restrain the force of his blows, however, in order to avoid cutting all the way through to himself. (He only did half damage.) Ynohtna aided the dwarf in this endeavor and the two seemed to be making small progress, though the dwarf was being eaten at an alarming rate. Blump ordered his war dog to stay back and cast healing magics upon Ynohtna when the ooze lashed out at him.
Shortly, the ooze stopped constricting and Tumak quickly sloughed it off of himself and emerged from the mouth of the cave. Immediately, there was an odd roar that ended in a squawk from just inside and a crossbow bolt flew out past them again. Quickly, the party prepared for the assault of the owlbear. That is, Tumak attempted to mount his pony to run away and Blump climbed up to the top of the cave mouth to escape the initial assault. Ynohtna, however, stood his ground in stupefaction at the apparent cowardice of his companions along with Blump's war dog who simply cocked his head at his master's exceptional mountaineering display.
The owlbear - larger than most others encountered previously - rushed from the cave and overran the half-orc. Two claw attacks and a bite from it's beak savaged the Ranger and left him a bloody pile of pain on the ground. Tumak's war pony was now trapped between the owlbear and the tangled forest with no escape. The Fighter also realized that it was still tied and was not going to be his escape. So, he dismounted and hacked at the owlbear. Blump took up his rope and jumped from the top of the cave mouth onto the owlbear's back, distracting it from the attacking dwarf and the half-orc it had intended to make a meal of. The Cleric managed to hang on, but found it impossible to get the rope around its neck at the same time.
The owlbear reared up onto its hind legs and slammed the gnome into the rocks above the cave mouth managing to take only a single swing at the dwarf in front of it. Tumak chose to take this opportunity to pour a healing potion down the half-orc's throat, then went back to attacking it when Ynohtna coughed and began to rise on shaky legs. Round after round of combat, Blump kept his perch, but couldn't wrap the rope around the owlbear's neck. The Fighter and Ranger hacked and slashed at the beast while suffering occasional swipes of its deadly paws.
Finally, Blump managed to swing the rope around and catch it, forcing the owlbear back on its hind legs. This tripped it up and it fell to the ground in a clumsy pile of razor sharp beak and claws. The dwarf and half-orc fell upon it viciously with scizor and falcion until the beast was stilled. After Ynohtna performed a coup-de-grace to ensure it's demise, the Cleric summoned a healing burst of positive energy to heal them all. The dead owlbear did not benefit from this burst. The not-yet-dead, ooze did, however.
All of a sudden, the ooze reached out and grabbed the Ranger by the leg. At the same time, another crossbow bolt shot from within the darkness of the cave. Not panicking this time, the adventurers slew that beast again, then, not seeing any bugbears or other threats within, decided to beat a retreat to the relative safety of the palisade fort before their luck ran out.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:07 pm; edited 6 times in total
Participating PCs:
Tumak Copperbeard - 4th level male dwarven Fighter;
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Ynohtna Noswal - 4th level male half-orc Ranger.
While resting and recouperating for a day at the palisaded fort, the three demi-humans discussed Tumak's penchant for claiming trophies of their kills. Again, the dwarf had claimed the male member of the giant owlbear as a trophy, but had been surprised to find that he had to hack through an actual bone to acquire that one. This had irritated his companions at the time since they were in a hurry to leave the vicinity, knowing that bugbears, likely other oozes, and perhaps a mate for the slain owlbear were all soon to be new threats.
The dwarven warrior was not daunted, however, and bragged to all the soldiers, showing off the minotaur skull he intended to have made into a horned helm and the new trophy he planned to present to the Keep's tanner to be made into a rather large cod piece. This annoucement was met with much rolling of eyes from his companions and comradly laughter from the mercenaries.
The following day, they decided to make their way back to the Keep via a scenic route through the forest. During their trek, a large spider (body about as big as two fists held together) dropped from the canopy onto the dwarf's shoulder and tried to bite him. He yelled at his friends not to chop at it and grabbed it in his mailed fist. It managed to bite him before he maneuvered it into a hold where it couldn't, but his dwarven constitution shrugged off the poisonous effects.
The Fighter was having a difficult time convincing his companions that he could train the large spider to be a companion until the gnome suggested that he try speaking to it. Tumak was delighted at the possibility, so Blump cast his spell.
Blump: Hey, there. Why did you attack my friend?
Spider: Shaggy dwarf smelled tasty.
Blump: (Translating and disagreeing with the spider's opinion of the dwarf's smell.) You can't eat the dwarf. What do you like to eat?
Spider: Dwarf.
Blump: What else to you like to eat? Worms? Bugs?
Spider: Crickets. Mice. Birds. Halflings. Horses...
Blump: Okay, okay. How about we find you something else to eat?
Spider: Why not eat dwarf? Put me down.
Blump: You can't eat the dwarf. He'll put you down when he's sure you won't try to eat him.
Spider: Only suck his insides out. Not eat his bones and fur.
Blump: You may not suck his insides out!...
This continued for a bit as Tumak wanted to convince the spider to be his friend, but Blump realized the spider's intelligence was too child-like to convince it of anything and felt bad about trying to trick it. Eventually, they fed it some bugs and rats they caught and the dwarf carried it all the way back to the Keep. There, the Corporal of the Guard refused to allow him to enter the Keep with it until it was properly caged, so he stood without while Ynohtna and Blump went to the Provisioner and had him fashion a wooden cage for it. The Corporal checked the cage's strength and was convinced that it would hold for a while, but made Tumak promise to have a metal cage built for it right away.
So, the party marched back to the tavern for tales and ales surrounded by a gaggle of shrieking children, who kept a couple of arm's lengths away.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:39 pm; edited 5 times in total
The only "future" problem I foresee is that spiders are a favorite food item of kobolds . . . creatures with a penchant for living in caves. all the more reason for them to attack your party.
And fireballs work well against most Oozes. Of course, they work just as well against the Dwarves trapped within such Oozes too!
thanks for the tip against oozes but we dont have a sorcerer or a wizard to throw fireballs at them...
Be careful who's advice you take, brave dwarf.
Mystic-Scholar wrote:
And fireballs work well against most Oozes. Of course, they work just as well against the Dwarves trapped within such Oozes too!
Actually, they don't in Pathfinder. Grey oozes have Fire Resistance 10. That means that every time they take fire damage, it is reduced by 10 points. The first time they (you, Tumak) fought those oozes, they threw flasks of oil on them and lit them with a torch - all to little effect.
Quote:
The only "future" problem I foresee is that spiders are a favorite food item of kobolds . . . creatures with a penchant for living in caves. all the more reason for them to attack your party.
I'll keep that in mind . . . if I should ever learn the Pathfinder "Guidelines." Like I said before, played in Golarion once . . . but someone else DMed.
Didn't realize this was a Pathfinder game. My bad!
Tumak wrote:
. . . we don't have a sorcerer or a wizard to throw fireballs at them...
It's been a while, but we recently found a chance to spend an evening gaming. We hoped for up to six players, but ended up with four plus me, DMing. That was a nice enough number.
Insidious
Participating PCs:
Zeke - 4th level male elven Rogue (he has thrown off the Ranger guise);
Blump Butter - 4th level male gnome Cleric;
Ynohtna Noswal - 4th level male half-orc Ranger;
Dwalt - 4th level male dwarven Barbarian.
As the adventurers gathered equipment to make another foray against the denizens of the Caves of Chaos, they worried that even the four of them would prove less than sufficient to prevail against the surviving bugbears or the Iuzian Clerics and their undead guardians. The answer seemed to come directly from a beneficient god as a Cleric of Pelor approached the group and introduced himself as Akkub. The party had seen him and his acolytes about the Keep during the last month or so and knew that everyone spoke well of him. He briefly introduced his two acolytes and explained that they were under a vow of silence, but that he hoped to accompany the party on their next outing so as to assist them and provide some life experience for his two young wards. The party could see his prominently-displayed Peloran holy symbol and the greatclub he carried upon his back, but asked concernedly about his lack of armor. Akkub smiled slyly and rapped his knuckles upon his chest. The clank of metal demonstrated that his attire was metal, rather than the cloth it appeared to be.
Our adventurers were delighted at the prospect of adding, not one, but three Clerics to their group and, detecting no deciet in the three, welcomed them to the club. Once again, they set off early in the morn to cheerful "Huzzah's!" from the soldiers upon the barbican and traveled peacefully along the road east to the palisaded guard post. After exchanging pleasantries with those guardsmen, they turned due west and made their way toward the ravine wherein lay the Caves of Chaos. Startling a small family of elves heading south for safety, they pointed the way and continued on.
The ravine seemed deathly quiet now. The heroes stealthily made their way to the thicket that hid the entrance to the lair of the buchveer. A narrow path led to the cave, but no guards were apparent.
Zeke carefully searched for traps and discovered a tripwire that would drop a net at the 'T' intersection, but promptly forgot about it after discussing the plan with the rest of the group. Fortunately, he managed to dive back before the weighted net fell upon him. Unfortunately, the clatter alerted the guards, who rushed to face the intruders while calling for back-up.
Though footing was unsure on the floor covered by a net with fist-sized rocks tied into it, the party made short work of the two bugbears that had no chance to outflank them in the hallway. They then turned to face a half-dozen, or so, that rushed them from the other direction, hurling spears before engaging in melee combat. Dwalt and Blump stepped back and, grabbing ahold of the weighted net, pulled with all their might as the first two bugbears stepped upon its other end. They successfully jerked it out from under those goblinoid feet and cast the two beasts onto their backs. The following two (ten foot wide hallway) failed to avoid their fallen comrades and tripped on top of them. All this right in front of the entrance. Thus, Akkub and his acolytes were perfectly positioned to attack the prone buheer. The acolytes were, apparently, unskilled at combat, but Akkub's greatclub smashed down upon one bugbear, slashing its shoulder and sending a spurt of blood Dwalt's direction. Dwalt advanced to chop the bugbears with his dwarven waraxe, but Blump jumped on top of the two in front of him and lept onto the third in line, still standing. His aim was true, this time, and his axe drew blood before he landed skillfully at the bugbear's feet.
Zeke and Ynohtna deduced that their five companions had the seven bugbears they counted easily contained and decided to (split the party ) search the guard room and the stairs up at the other end of the hall. Nothing of interest but a lit fire pit with skewers of meat roasting over it presented itself within the guardroom, but faint sounds could be heard from up the stairs. Zeke snuck to the top and found a door to the west and another locked, iron-bound, door around a corner to the east. Ynohtna quietly snuck up to the western door, where he discerned the noises were coming from. At that moment, that door opened and the bugbear chief emerged armed and armored for a fight. Spotting Ynohtna crouching just outside his doorway, he immediately engaged, slicing him with his own scizor and chopping him with a hand axe. Falling back, down the staircase, Ynohtna defended himself as best he could. Two armed females followed their chief out and Zeke followed them down the stairs after his Ranger friend.
Lesson learned: Don't try to hide in a doorway.
Blump and Dwalt slashed, punched, and stabbed as the bugbears fought to regain their feet and soon found themselves surrounded. Suffering several severe stabs from the bugbears' spears, the gnome managed to maneuver out of the mob to stand beside the dwarven Barbarian. Akkub moved behind them and cast a beneficial spell to empower his allies while his acolytes remained in the entrance attempting to hit the bugbears pushing toward the demi-humans standing firm in the hallway. Blump called a warning and commanded his shield to flash a blinding light, which blinded a few of the bugbears and one of the acolytes, who was slow to realize what the warning meant. Back on the stairs, the half-orc lost the one-on-one confrontation with the bugbear chief and collapsed in a bloody heap on the stairs. At the same time, Zeke cruelly back-stabbed one of the chief's bodyguards/lovers and he and the one remaining turned to face the now apparent elven Rogue.
Leaving Dwalt and the Pelorans to deal with the press of bugbears near the entrance, Blump ran over to heal the Ranger. As he did so, he was unaware that Akkub followed him until the traitor brought his greatclub down upon his back. This strike was painful, but tolerable to the doughty gnome. As Blump turned to face his new assailant, he called for his war dog to help. (Zeke noted the ugly slash the greatclub had left across the gnome's back as he turned.) Unfortunately, his war dog was intercepted by one of the acolytes who was pitifully unable to hurt it, but did manage to delay its assistance. Dwalt found himself surrounded by bugbears and the second acolyte kept casting spells at him that were distracting as he had to mentally fight them off while physically battling the giant goblinoids trying to stab him from every direction.
Akkub in his true form.
Ynohtna opened his eyes to find himself lying on the staircase between two powerful enemies - the bugbear chief and Akkub, who was attacking the gnome. Fearing that trying to stand up while next to those two warriors would only result in him being dropped in a bloody heap again, he instead took a swipe at Akkub's legs with his magical falchion from his prone position and rolled a few feet away. This proved little more than a slight distraction to the false Peloran, however. As the battle progressed, Dwalt called on the inner power of his rage and managed to defeat most of the bugbears engaged with him. Blump's dog tore apart the acolyte flailing at him with a mace, and Zeke dropped the other female bugbear who was trying to outflank him with her chief. At that moment, however, tragedy struck. Akkub swung his greatclub at the gnome's waist and Blump's attempt to dodge the blow was abruptly halted as he stepped into the wall at his back. Nearly being cut in two, just below his breastplate, the gnome fell down the stairs, dead, dead, ... dead.
Blump
Coldy furious, the half-orc Ranger pulled himself to his feet and proceeded to battle the traitorous Cleric, forcing him back down the stairs with overhand blows from his falchion that couldn't all be batted away by the Cleric's greatclub. Ynohtna cut down the offending Akkub, Zeke defeated the powerful blows of the bugbear chief's scizor and hand axe, Dwalt cut down the two remaining bugbears, and the last acolyte, seeing his master fall, turned and fled out the cave entrance. The Ranger called for Blump's war dog to chase him and the two proceeded to catch him and cut him down before he'd exited the thicket outside. Zeke and Dwalt checked Blump for life and, finding none, began to bicker over his magical belongings.
Zeke discovered that his magical sword had been broken in the fight, but the survivors searched the rest of the bugbear caves and discovered some nice treasure and freed some interesting captives. In one prison they discovered some kobolds, a goblin, and some orcs, all of whom they slew without much consideration. They freed a dwarven merchant, two human woodsmen, and two elves who claimed to live in the forest nearby. In another prison room they slew several imprisoned hobgoblins and a gnoll, but spared a bugbear on the word of a barbarous human claiming to hail from the far north. He claimed that this bugbear was imprisoned by the others because he objected to the tribe following the priests of Iuz. (He neglected to mention this was on account of that bugbear remaining true to the worship of Hruggek, his racial deity). The human explained that this bugbear had taught him to speak his language and had become his friend, preventing him from despairing in captivity. Thus, the party allowed the bugbear and barbarous human to leave together on their own recognizance.
Returning the other freed captives to the safety of the Keep, Zeke forked over lots of coin for the repair of his magical blade and the others forked over even more to have Figolwren, the elven advisor to the Castellan, Identify all the equipment they brought back that he detected as magical. They claimed a fine chain shirt of magical mithril from the bugbear chief and a magical (glamoured) black dragonhide breastplate from the body of Akkub (whom they discovered, bore the symbol of Iuz tattooed upon his shoulder). His greatclub ceased its magical disguise upon his death and the heroes discovered that it was a quite useful greatsword, which the Ranger claimed in place of his falchion. They claimed a magical hand axe and the chief's scizor for their friend, Tumak, should he rejoin them. Several potions proved useful, though they weren't quite sure what to do with the six potions of Undetectable Alignment they found upon the body of Akkub. The Bag of Holding full of catnip turned out to be a very nice spoil of the battle.
A merchant returned with a second Bag of Holding that Zeke had previously paid for, cheering the party further. They were awarded much reward for the safe return of the dwarven merchant and all party members not yet members of The Witch is Dead, et. al. guild were given honorary memberships. They then spoke to Abdiel about returning their clerical gnomish friend to life. Sadly, Abdiel appologized for not having the power to cast such a spell himself and explained that the scroll he used on Ynohtna was the only one he had. However, he promised to write a letter of recommendation that he suggested the party take to the temple of Heironeous in either Schwartzenbruin or Chendl, where there was likely to be a Cleric of sufficient power to bring their friend back to life.
Now, they had a hard choice: stay to finish off the threat the Iuzian Clerics posed to the good people of the Keep, or travel to a distant city to Raise one of their lost friends from death.
SirXaris
Last edited by SirXaris on Sat Jun 24, 2023 6:50 pm; edited 10 times in total
Are your players never going to catch a break? They could use one "real" cleric.
And let me add this: In spite of what the Source Materials may say, I've played many types of clerics in my computer game T.o.E.E. and the Cleric of Pelor always fairs better against the Undead -- which you needn't worry about here -- and always has the "most" healing available, which benefits any campaign.
Do you think the next adventure will be any easier?
Tumak, the man works for TPK Games!
What part of "Total Party Kill" do you not understand?
He just told you that you have to face an Iuzian cleric with Undead minions and the man refuses to allow you the ultimate "Undead slayer" . . . a true Cleric of Pelor! No other Cleric destroys Undead as well as does a Cleric of Pelor. I'm amazed that he allowed you to get this far and proud that you guys have actually reached 4th level!
Sir Xaris . . . messed up!
Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I play my computer version of Temple of Elemental Evil quite often. And it's based upon the same Game Mechanics we use here, only, being a computer program, there's no way to "cheat." The computer is the DM.
I've played many Clerics of different Gods. None of them kill off the Undead the way the Clerics of Pelor do. At 9th and 10th levels -- the game goes no higher -- "Greater Turning" destroys them by the dozens.
The game is "turn" based. When surrounded with Undead, I simply "defend myself" until it's the Cleric's turn, then -- "Greater Turning." Poof! No more Undead. The Clerics of other Gods don't do that nearly so well. It's altered the way I play table top with my group. _________________ Mystic's web page: http://melkot.com/mysticscholar/index.html
Mystic's blog page: http://mysticscholar.blogspot.com/
Oh, I know where he works... It's just that Tumak the Mighty never died...nor will he :D
Now that we are level 5 (most of us I think) we are going to get this going. We went to their cave and...well I'll leave it to Sir Xaris to tell you the story I hope it will be soon though...
What part of "Total Party Kill" do you not understand?
He just told you that you have to face an Iuzian cleric with Undead minions and the man refuses to allow you the ultimate "Undead slayer" . . . a true Cleric of Pelor! No other Cleric destroys Undead as well as does a Cleric of Pelor. I'm amazed that he allowed you to get this far and proud that you guys have actually reached 4th level!
Sir Xaris . . . messed up!
Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I play my computer version of Temple of Elemental Evil quite often. And it's based upon the same Game Mechanics we use here, only, being a computer program, there's no way to "cheat." The computer is the DM.
I've played many Clerics of different Gods. None of them kill off the Undead the way the Clerics of Pelor do. At 9th and 10th levels -- the game goes no higher -- "Greater Turning" destroys them by the dozens.
The game is "turn" based. When surrounded with Undead, I simply "defend myself" until it's the Cleric's turn, then -- "Greater Turning." Poof! No more Undead. The Clerics of other Gods don't do that nearly so well. It's altered the way I play table top with my group.
The caves shall flow with the blood of the non-believers.
Here is something I wrote about my dwarf with a little help of Sir Xaris
Long before the discovery of mithril, steel, silver, and gold, the mighty dwarven families used to smith lesser metals. The most famous family was the Whitebeards, and their elder, Kazgrym Whitebeard, was known as the best blacksmith in all the families that used to live under the Copper Mountain. By the time he was 181 years old his arms were weak and, while forging a war hammer, he accidently dipped his beard in the mold filled with copper and his beard was white no more. Since that day, all of his successors naturally started growing copper beards. The rest of the dwarf families living under the Copper Mountain took that as a sign of their god Dumathoin and started honoring the Copperbeard family as royal. It is said that a couple of his hairs fell off in the mold and made the war hammer magic.
Centuries later, Moruk Copperbeard, king of the Copper Mountain and High Herald of Dumathoin, sent his second son Tumak on a dangerous quest in finding the lost enchanted Earthbreaker of Return, forged by Kazgrym Copperbeard himself. Tumak and his younger brother Toruk are the only two direct heirs of Kazgrym Copperbeard and they claim the right of owning it. Now, after decades of it being lost, Tumak had his hands on it, yet it slipped once again. He has vowed to bring it back to the Copper Mountain, and prove his oldest brother’s death (the first son of Moruk died by the hand of giants while chasing after the missing Earthbreaker) to have been worthy of it.
Tumak Copperbeard, in fact, is the direct descendant of Kazgrym Copperbeard, rightful heir to the throne under the Copper Mountain. He is known by many nicknames such as Slayer of the Minotaur, the Mighty Duelist, the Orc Hewer, the Ogre Bane, and (for a short time) Tumak Nobeard. Royal blood rushes through his body, fear is an unknown word for him, and there are stories of his adventures and battles, but no one can tell the whole story except him since none who battled on his side survived to tell the tale. Now, the dwarven noble, disguised as a simple traveler, walks through lands uncharted on dwarven maps.
Edit: During a short interlude, the party traveled south of the Keep into the lands of the Wood Elves. There, they visited a temple of Ehlonna to request that their gnomish friend be raised from the dead. They offered their own witness of the gnome's forthrightness and produced letters from Abdiel, High Priest of the Keep, and Duebidale, the dryad. Ynohtna and Tumak had requested her assistance in this matter when they sought her out to give her the magical cloak that had been promised. A hefty donation (every bit of monetary value the party possessed) to the temple sealed the deal and Blump was returned alive and well to his friends.
The doughty adventurers prepared well for their foray against the Iuzian Clerics known to be lairing within the final cave in the ravine. Akkub's betrayal was keen in their minds, cementing their desire to strike back at Iuz even more so than the deaths of their comrads at the hands of the various humanoids. Eagerly, they made their way to the entrance.
Once there, they made a careful search for traps and, finding none, Zeke crept in. About 30 feet into the passage he encountered a 'T' intersection with a 20 foot wide passageway heading north and south. On either side of the entrance hall, he detected a magical rune, which Blump identified as a Glyph of Warding, a spell which he had recently learned to cast himself. Blump was able to deduce that the magical glyph had something to do with light, but he was not familiar with this particular one. Bill, the new dwarven member of the group solved this first dilema by boldly walking through it. He cringed a bit as the area around him immediately lit up brightly, then had no time to relax as he was attacked before his eyes adjusted to the change in brightness.
Four skeletons and an ogre zombie with a familiar greatsword were waiting for him around the corner. His companions, however, were quick to back him up and rushed in to the fight. They soon realized that they were a little too eager to join in as none of them checked the northern passage as they ran to face the undead to the south. Four more skeletons attacked from the north and the adventurers found themselves surrounded. Never-the-less, the party was quite capable of handling such adversaries and only the ogre zombie proved more difficult than expected. To whit, when its enormous gut was slashed open by multiple hits from axe, scimitar, and greatsword, a host of crawling vermin poured forth from within and assaulted the nearby heroes. An agile dance and some skipping and jumping served to dislodge the vermin swarms before they could make their way within the armor of the half-orc and the Barbarian. Realizing the swarms were very slow-moving, the group decided not to waste spells and resources in their destruction and simply advanced up the north passageway.
At it's end, they discovered a solid oak door, banded in iron to the east, another oaken door in the north wall, and a sloped passageway continuing upward to the west. Zeke cracked open the unlocked door in the northern wall and spied four amored humans preparing to emerge for battle. Stealthily, he shut the door and took up a position to the side. The other party members prepared to meet the assault as well and only one of the four Iuzian Acolytes survived long enough to take a swing with his mace. It was of no consequence, however, as he joined his evil fellows in death very quickly.
After taking a few minutes to loot the bodies of the fallen Clerics and their room, they heard a voice from the top of the stairs call them out, pronouncing a very painful doom upon them. At the top of the sloped passageway to the west, they saw a dark, plate-armored, figure silhouetted by the flickering light of torches behind him to either side. To his left and right hand stood unmoving zombies. Most of the adventurers moved into defensive positions, but Bill, the dwarven Barbarian, decided to put an end to the threats and charged up the slope. A laughing command ending in an unseen sneer behind his close-faced helm kicked the zombies into action. Two to either side of him upended a large barrel of oil, which ran down the slope, covering the floor. This was immediately followed by two torches which flew over the zombie's heads and, landing amid the oil, lit the slope in flames. Bill, managed to slip to a halt and reversed direction as quickly as possible, running back to join his compatriots outside the reach of the burning oil pooling at the base of the slope.
As they waited for the fire to burn itself out, they saw the zombies part and a host of skeletons run down the slope, through the fire, directly at them. Comically, a couple of the front-runners slipped on the burining oil and slid face-first into the fray. This brought down a few others behind them as well and it proved a much less-devastating charge than it may have otherwise been. As the heroes laid into the skeletons with bludgeoning weapons and the flats of their blades, they noted that they continued to burn, though they were no longer within the firey oil and they seemed to be unharmed by the flames. The heat from these burning skeletons, however, caused much discomfort to the heroes.
An evil chanting began to be heard from behind the plate-armored Cleric and his zombies. Blump called on the power of Garl Glittergold to summon positive energy and the skeletons staggered as pieces of bone erupted from their bodies. Blump was quite surprised to note that these skeletons were tougher than expected and not as susceptible to the effects of his channeled energy as normal skeletons. Then, pointing to Blump, the Iuzian spoke the words of a most insidious spell. He said, "Kill him!" None understood the true meaning of the words except Tumak, who immediately felt compelled to obey. Moving behind Blump, the Fighter slashed him across the back with his scizor. Crying out in pain and confusion, the gnome was little comforted by the dwarf's shouted appology.
The battle continued with the Iuzian continuing to assault the heroes with cruel magic from the safety offered by the burning slope. Blump channeled positive energy again and the skill of the warriors eventually brought the burning skeletons low. By this time, the oil on the slope had burned itself out, so the party charged to meet the enemy toe-to-toe at the top. The zombies proved a speed bump, but the Iuzian priest struck back at Bill the Barbarian with equal skill with a viper-headed rod. Fortunately, the sturdy dwarf's constitution withstood the venom injected into his veins with each strike. The top of the slope ended in another 'T' intersection, with passages running north and south again. More zombies and burning skeletons stood in both passages and moved to fill the gaps left by their falling brethren. Blump channeled positive energy twice more during this fight, but wanted to save his final use of the day. Many of the undead succombed to these forceful assaults, but many others largely resisted the effects. The Iuzian called loudly for 'Ragnar'. The iron-bound, eastern door at the bottom of the slope opened and a powerfully built warrior wearing an executioner's hood and wielding a greataxe emerged and charged up the slope to engage Blump.
As the Iuzian retreated step-by-step, Tumak managed to keep up and scored a serious blow beneath the evil priest's armpit. Four Iuzian Adepts leapt to his defense and he was able to retreat behind a sizeable horde of undead. The Adepts were little more effective than the undead at slowing the advance of the adventurers, but Ragnar proved more difficult to defeat. The Iuzian cast a spell that plunged the intersection into darkness, but Blump countered it with a newly learned Daylight spell. The Iuzian Cleric was then seen drinking a couple of potions as he retreated back up the darkness of the northern hallway. Eventually, burned, battered, and bloodied, the party destroyed the last of the undead and Ragnar, the half-orc executioneer, and paused briefly to bind their wounds. Shortly, they advanced north after the Iuzian priest. They quickly searched a barrack, confiscating the valuable dishes and coinage, and contiued their march. Bill noted a secret door in a slanting portion of the passage and hung back to check it out without informing the rest of the party. Discovering nothing but a dusty alcove behind it, he rejoined the others.
Zeke was the first to enter the temple at the end of the hall. Dark tapestries covered the walls of this enormous sculpted temple. A huge bell, three evil altars, and a dais with a bejeweled throne and four lesser chairs only briefly held his attention when dozens of candles burst into reddish flame. Even spying the Iuzian standing, arms upraised, before the throne couldn't distract him from the hypnotizing effect of the nauseating mural on the west wall. Zeke stood frozen to the spot as his companions moved up behind him. Tumak slapped him out of the daze, but succumbed to it himself. The Iuzian commanded him to kneel at the altar, but he forced his mind free of the hold the magic of the mural had on him. He, Zeke, Blump, and Bill all pretended to be enthralled and advanced halfway down the lengthy temple to kneel before the red and black altars. As the Iuzian commanded them to praise his dark lord, Zeke, Bill, and Tumak rose and charged him. A shouted command brought forth a dozen shrine-blessed, burning skeletons and a dozen shrine-blessed zombies from behind doors hidden by the tapestries, cutting off the party's escape. Ynohtna heard the shuffling feet approaching and ambushed the zombies as they emerged. Unfortunately, he quickly found himself surrounded, so Blump and his war dog ran back to his aid.
The Iuzian cleric.
An epic battle ensued between the three heroic warriors and the Iuzian priest. High on the power of several potions and enhancing spells, he battled all three with confidence. Blump used the final channeling power of the day, weekening most of the skeletons and zombies. These had the power of Iuz's temple enhancing them, though, so they were not so easily destroyed. After the exchange of many blows, the skeletons and zombies were mostly destroyed and the Iuzian was seriously wounded. He pulled a potion vial from a pouch at his belt and made to drink it. Tumak was quicker, but the Iuzian deftly avoided the dwarf's attempt to bat it from his hand. Downing the potion caused the Iuzian, armor and all, to disolve into a cloud of gas before the warrior's eyes. Unfortunately for the evil priest, that did not immunize him from the magical blade at the end of the Rogue's arm. The Iuzian solidified in death and dropped unceremoniously to the floor next to the throne.
It was at this point that the insidiousness of the demi-god's power was invoked. Iuz was already displeased at the failure of his priest to prevent the heroes from destroying the army he had amassed behind his enemy's lines. But, he was even more displeased that the heroes had successfully violated his temple. Bill, the dwarven Barbarian, and Tumak the dwarven Fighter, both coveted the plate armor worn by the Iuzian's corpse. They began to argue over who would claim it as spoils of battle. Blump and Ynohtna, being uninterested in the armor, ignored the arguing dwarves and concentrated on healing their wounds. Zeke stealthily sidled over to the throne and worked to remove the gemstones embedded in its backboard. Shortly, the dwarves fell to blows, but none of the other heroes felt compelled to intervene, as the fight had been agreed upon as an honorable duel. A few comments about waiting until they were safely out of the Caves went unheeded by the furious dwarves. Zeke was distracted briefly and broke the most valuable gem, shattering it into hundreds of worthless pieces. This motivated him to concentrate upon his task and ignore the battle completely.
Soon, two zombies armored in banded mail emerged from behind another curtain and assailed the battling dwarves. So enthralled with the greed of Iuz, the two dwarves completely ignored the zombies and continued to attack each other. Blump and Ynohtna raced over and engaged the zombies, defeating them in time to see Tumak's scizor slice open Bill's throat. All out of healing magic, Blump searched for a potion, but discovered that it was too late to save the Barbarian's life.
Bill . . . and Tumak . . . both coveted the plate armor . . . They began to argue over who would claim it as spoils of battle . . . the two dwarves completely ignored the zombies and continued to attack each other.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Dwarves?
Sir Xaris knows!
Hahahahahahahahaha!
SirXaris wrote:
Four skeletons and an ogre zombie . . . they saw the zombies part and a host of skeletons run down the slope, through the fire, directly at them . . . from behind the plate-armored Cleric and his zombies . . . Soon, two zombies armored in banded mail emerged from behind another curtain . . .
And still that "bastard" from TPK Games won't let you players have a legitimate Cleric of Pelor in your group!
Or are you guys really that dumb?
SirXaris wrote:
An agile dance and some skipping and jumping served to dislodge the vermin swarms . . . Realizing the swarms were very slow-moving, the group decided not to waste spells and resources in their destruction and simply advanced up the north passageway.
C'mon guys! A Magic User/Cleric buys scrolls the way a Fighter/Warrior/Barbarian buys weapons! If you can't cast Fireball, at least purchase a scroll of Fireball! You can "toss it off" over your shoulder as you run!
Trust me, in my game . . . those swarms of vermin are going to be awaiting your return!
Tumak and the guys haven't learned their lesson yet, Xaris . . . kill off a couple of more of them!
I hadn't expected them to be 5th level by the time they took on the Iuzian High Priest, but they had a rough time of it anyway. Blump, the gnomish Cleric of Garl Glittergold, is doing a fine job of channeling positive energy when necessary, saving some for emergencies.
And, if you are familiar with The Keep on the Borderlands, you know that they have a surprise or two awaiting them as they finish searching the Clerics' cave...
. . . if you are familiar with The Keep on the Borderlands, you know that they have a surprise or two awaiting them as they finish searching the Clerics' cave . . .
Oh, yeah!
And by the way, you have permission to throw in a . . .
Unfortunately for the evil priest, that did not immunize him from the magical blade at the end of the Rogue's arm.
It was me who finished him with my ghost touch scizore, not the Rogue...
And just to clarify, I didn't mean to kill Bill, he challenged me on a duel to the death, and I didn't want to kill him I just wanted to get him bellow 0 HP, it's just that he raged and attacked me, and my final blow killed him instead of just putting him down unconscious... I hope the armor is worth it lol
haha - absolutely wonderful SirXaris! Your accounts demonstrate the importance of tweeking the modules to challenge the party. Very entertaining to read. I enjoyed seeing the keep set in the north vs Iuz, as I've run it in the yeomanry facing Wastri in for years. Well done. I also particularly like your treatment of kobolds - i have had similar fun buffing them up so now my friends have learned to dread ( iknow it sounds funny) the kobolds of the Tors. "I think I just saw a kobold ahead" followed by anxious groans and the sounds of weapons being readied. what fun!
Well done - keep it goin - looking forward to seeing what you've done with the "suprises" ahead of them.
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). Satisfied that Ash had been knocked unconscious, he ignored the fleeing Ranger and took his victim back to his lair to save for later.
So, now those who survive, get a small xp bonus instead of a penalty going to those who die.
Behind a very large boulder, the victorious warriors discovered a couple of chests full of treasure including several useful potions.
) until the youth was completely smitten. She then began to lead him off into the darkness. As she did, Ynohtna emerged from the trees, naked as a jaybird. As she disappeared into the enclosing arbor, the dryad called over her shoulder to Tumak that he still owed her a white horse. 
)
