From where we left off, we continued our journey north. In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, weeks are called Tendays, and they consist (surprise!) of ten days. Our journey was going to last 60 days, so DJ chose to break up the journey into these weeks.
Two events occurred during the second Tenday. The first happened on day 13, when Beyd's wagon, the third in line, overturned, and its contents spilled out. The cultists quickly had their guards circle the wagon and kept everyone else out. Corrin failed to sneak past the guards, and Censura failed to bargain his way through. Thok, however, was let through to assist with the beer. Fortunately, all of Beyd's kegs of beer made their saving throws and survived the crash. While re-stacking the kegs, Thok managed to spot some of the treasure as the cultists re-packed it.
A small family, a mother and her son, also emerged from the wagon. Beyd had allowed them to ride against the wishes of the Cult. The Cult chased them out. I tended to their wounds and allowed them the use of my horse. Unfortunately, the next morning, they were found dead. Examing the bodies, I found that they had been murdered by poison. I then used gentle repose to preserve the .bodies, hopefully for later use with a speak with dead or a similar spell.
The next event occurred on day 19, as we were rounding the Trollclaws. We came upon a gathering of 200 hundred people led by a trio of priests. They were blocking the road, and were on their knees whipping themselves. We eventually learned that they were followers of Loviatar, the Forgotten Realms god of torture, and they were honoring a high holy day with their actions. They offered us a chance to join them. Ultimately, we bribed them into wallowing in thorn bushes at the roadside instead. D.J. had learned that one of the adventure's writers, Steve Winter, had written this encounter, but it had been edited out of the final draft of the adventure. However, it still has an entry on the random encounter table for the journey. As I've mentioned before, the editing on these adventures books leaves something to be desired. As a Realms fan, I was expecting them to be followers of Ilmater, the god of endurance and suffering. Loviatar worshippers generally fill more of a dominatrix role with Ilmater worshipers more interested in self-flagellation.
As the second Tenday ended, we made another round of "getting to know you" rolls. This time around we learned a bit more about Edhelri, two of the shield dwarves also acting as guards, a rock gnome travelling with us, a lawyer travelling with us, and Werond. Edhelri seems to prefer the company of her animals and her wagon to the company of people, and Werond is secretly a romantic. She regaled Censura with a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque tale that brought them to tears. The rock gnome, Radecere, turns out to like games of chance, and played some with Lokeo. One of the shield dwarves, Eldkin, brags about having made this journey many times and was very nit-picky of supposed mistakes the other travelers were making. The other shield dwarf, Tyjit, is an honest, but temperamental person. Aldor, the lawyer, wouldn't talk to us, but a fellow traveler had learned that he was fleeing a scandal of some sort in Baldur's Gate.
The third Tenday was quiet, with the major event occurring on day 28. A herd of deer was spotted near the wagon train, so we went on a hunting expedition. A large buck was spotted among the deer. A buck with a coat of gold and antlers of platinum. Not surprisingly, some of the hunters wanted to chase down the deer. Sandi, Corrin, and Censura opted to follow them. Sandi suspected that the buck was a powerful fae creature, so they wanted to make sure nothing happened to the other guards or the buck. The buck led the party to a crumbling ruin. There, it turned into a moon elf male with a tiny pair of gold horns. He begged the others to put their weapons away. All but one of the guards did.
A short battle ensued. Corrin used Disarm, an optional action found in the DMG to knock the bow out of the guard's hand. Once he was disarmed, the other guards restrained him. The moon elf explained that he was a noble of a now forgotten kingdom (there are lots of those in Faerun), who was cursed to turn into the stag whenever he left his castle. He was cursed because of the father of the woman he loved did not approve of the union. He was hoping to get to Waterdeep to find a cure for his curse.
While three of the four guards were on board with hiding the game animal made of wealth, the fourth, the one Corrin had to disarm, seemed very shifty about it. He had been spending an awful lot of time with the cultists, too. They disguised the nameless prince (yes, he had even forgotten his name) with a saddle blanket and some ample mud. Alek and Thok were informed of the situation when the party returned, and agreed to help protect the prince on the way to Waterdeep.
Once again, a nearly combat free session in which a great deal of actual plot was covered.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
More Role-Playing!
We had some pleasant surprises at the start of the game, Reese was able to return with Lokeo. And Sean had gone through and rebuilt Corrin. Now, instead of being tall for a halfling, he's short for a human. Also, he's Feat human, so he took a couple of feats: Alertness and Dual Wielding. He also changed his archetype to Assassin. Plus, Arannis reached third level, and Ethan chose some new Sorcerer features for him: Metamagic, which uses his Sorcery Points. He chose Twinned Spell, which also a single target spell to affect another target, and Careful Spell, which allows some targets in a spell's area to automatically make a saving throw against its effects. Ethan also settled on Arannis's sorcerous origin: Draconic Bloodline, specifically red dragon.
We picked up where we left off, with the merchants trapped under the over-turned burning wagon. The owner asked us to save his wares from the fire: fine wooden carvings from the elves of Cormyr. Everyone but Corrin and Arannis opted to take chance to rescue items from the fire. This was resolved through Constitution saves. Success meant taking reduced fire damage and saving 20% of the merchant's wares. Everyone but Thok and Alek, the ones with two best Constitution scores, failed.
Then we met the merchants: a moon elf named Noohar Serelim, his deaf and mute brother, Selvek, his teamster Werond Torohar, and their guards Victor and Hugo, aspiring novelists. Later, as we were making our "Getting to know you" rolls, I noticed that Wagon #2 already had a teamster named Werond Torohar. DJ retconned the new comer to be Enom Tobun, a lightfoot halfling male. Despite having ample horses and wagon space, the middle wagons, largely controlled by the dragon cultists, refused to let the newcomers have room. Fortunately, Censura was able to get Oyn to agree to allow them to stow their cargo on his wagon. They stacked it near a large collection of exotic birds that Oyn was hauling. Thok also offered them the use of his horse. Lokeo tried to get payment for a similar service, but his bargaining only scored him a somewhat scorched carving. Censura ended up taking the offer instead.
This concluded with Arannis being offered a job as a night guard to allow for his sunlight sensitivity. Then Edhelri and Oyn, ther merchants that had hired the party, encouraged us to to not skimp on our resources during battles. Edhelri even added the slightly meta comment of "This is not a game!" The remainder of the first Tenday was uneventful, and we took our first round of "getting to know you" with our fellow travelers. We learned more about Edhelri, Oyn, Werond, a traveller named Green Imsa (a human female who is completely green), and Selvek. We learned that Edhelri is hauling exotic wood from the jungles of Chult to be sold in Waterdeep. Oyn likes to have arguing partners, and ended up with Censura as his newest one. Werond is quiet, but very skilled with handling animals. We learned that Imsa was travelling to Waterdeep to ask the wizards there for a cure. And Selvek collects butterflies.
This post is beginning to run a little long. We'll find out what happened over the course of the next Tenday when I return.
We picked up where we left off, with the merchants trapped under the over-turned burning wagon. The owner asked us to save his wares from the fire: fine wooden carvings from the elves of Cormyr. Everyone but Corrin and Arannis opted to take chance to rescue items from the fire. This was resolved through Constitution saves. Success meant taking reduced fire damage and saving 20% of the merchant's wares. Everyone but Thok and Alek, the ones with two best Constitution scores, failed.
Then we met the merchants: a moon elf named Noohar Serelim, his deaf and mute brother, Selvek, his teamster Werond Torohar, and their guards Victor and Hugo, aspiring novelists. Later, as we were making our "Getting to know you" rolls, I noticed that Wagon #2 already had a teamster named Werond Torohar. DJ retconned the new comer to be Enom Tobun, a lightfoot halfling male. Despite having ample horses and wagon space, the middle wagons, largely controlled by the dragon cultists, refused to let the newcomers have room. Fortunately, Censura was able to get Oyn to agree to allow them to stow their cargo on his wagon. They stacked it near a large collection of exotic birds that Oyn was hauling. Thok also offered them the use of his horse. Lokeo tried to get payment for a similar service, but his bargaining only scored him a somewhat scorched carving. Censura ended up taking the offer instead.
This concluded with Arannis being offered a job as a night guard to allow for his sunlight sensitivity. Then Edhelri and Oyn, ther merchants that had hired the party, encouraged us to to not skimp on our resources during battles. Edhelri even added the slightly meta comment of "This is not a game!" The remainder of the first Tenday was uneventful, and we took our first round of "getting to know you" with our fellow travelers. We learned more about Edhelri, Oyn, Werond, a traveller named Green Imsa (a human female who is completely green), and Selvek. We learned that Edhelri is hauling exotic wood from the jungles of Chult to be sold in Waterdeep. Oyn likes to have arguing partners, and ended up with Censura as his newest one. Werond is quiet, but very skilled with handling animals. We learned that Imsa was travelling to Waterdeep to ask the wizards there for a cure. And Selvek collects butterflies.
This post is beginning to run a little long. We'll find out what happened over the course of the next Tenday when I return.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
On the Road Again
We gathered around the table for another session. At this point, Sandi and Alek have both reached fourth level. So it's probably a good time to talk about feats.
In Fifth, Feats are optional. You can take them at levels you would normally gain a bonus to your attributes. Like in 4th, you either add +1 to two ability scores, or +2 to one. More like 3rd, however, you raise ability scores at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level. However, in 5th edition, your scores are capped at 20. In the theoretical world where Alek makes it all the way to 20th, the plan is to raise Wisdom by 2 at 4th and 8th, raise Strength and Dexterity by 1 at 12th, then raise Strength by 2 at 16th and 19th.
You can forego an increase to your ability scores, however, to take a feat. In the book, they are listed as an optional rule. Since the rules for Adventurer's League are mute on them, D.J. opted to allow them. This is a decision he should have made earlier, since it affects how a human character is built. Since I did not feel like rebuilding Alek, I opted not to use feats.
Sandi has chosen a Feat called Sharpshooter. It provides a rather hefty list of benefits. First, he no longer has disadvantage on ranged attack rolls at long range. Second, he ignores half cover and three quarters cover on ranged attacks. And last, but not least, he can choose to take a -5 on his attack roll in exchange for +10 to damage. While many feats also increase an ability score by +1, Sharpshooter does not.
Joseph is planning on taking a Feat for Thok at 4th level, as is Sean for Corrin. Sandi has had the Feat for a few sessions now, and it has drastically altered his play. Since he ignores cover and long range penalties, there is almost no need for him to reposition in a battle. While I can't really say whether or not this counts as broken, I can say that it changes the dynamic.
D.J. started us off by giving us a hand out with a list of the other NPCs in the wagons with us and gave us a side quest to learn about the NPCs we would be travelling with. As this will be a 60 day journey, the distraction will be welcome, and it will give us some opportunity to some role-playing and creativity.
We then met with the merchants to discuss the planned travel route: along the Coast Way through the Fields of the Dead and the Trollclaws and over the Winding Water to the ruins of Dragonspear Castle, where the Coast Way meets the Trade Way. Then we would follow the Trade Way past the Troll Hills and Trollbark and Misty Forests to Daggerford. Then, after Daggerford, up to the Dessarin River and on to Waterdeep.
While Corrin was on his way to meet back up with us, he encountered a wandering old herbalist who sold him "healing potions" for a deep discount. The seller claimed they were all natural. But whether or not the work as advertised has yet to be seen.
The first day was uneventful, but that night a group of "adventurers" wandered into camp and put on a theatrical display. This ended with Alek had Thok being fired. Thinking something was amiss, I questioned these "adventurers," and found that they were taking credit for our triumphs back at Greenest. Worse, they were not very good liars and had done no research. I took this evidence back to the merchant that hired us, Edheiri, but failed to convince her. I ended up biding my time until the "adventurers" revealed their true colors. I didn't have to wait to long.
In the mean times, Thok befriended the merchant in another wagon, a seller of wine and beer named Beyd. Thok decided to help Beyd ply his wares among the other members of the wagon train.
By day 4, we had reached the Fields of the Dead, and Sandi warned people that it wasn't safe to light fires at night.
On day 5, we came across an overturned freight wagon. The wagon was on fire and surrounded by hobgoblins. This was our big fight for the session.
At this point, those "adventurers," which turned out to be a troupe of actors, turned tail and ran. Edheiri ended up needing our services again. Ever the negotiator, Alek got his job back, with pay missed, a 20% raise, Thok's job back, and a position for Corrin. But not for Sandi (sorry, Sandi).
The hobgoblins ended up being among the first hard targets we've encountered, with the troops having ACs of 18 (using chain mail and shields), and the captain having a 17 (wearing half plate and with a bonus to AC from Dex). The Captain used an ability called Leadership that allowed its troops to add d4s to their attack rolls and saving throws. While an effective booster, it wasn't nearly as effective as Pack Tactics. My current thought on Pack Tactic, when I run a game, it to errata it to only apply to melee attacks. Aside from kobolds, most other monsters that have it only have melee attacks anyway, and I think it holds better with the spirit of the feature.
Once we had cleared the hobgoblins, it was time to end the session. Next time, we'll meet the unlucky travelers that had been hiding under that wagon.
In Fifth, Feats are optional. You can take them at levels you would normally gain a bonus to your attributes. Like in 4th, you either add +1 to two ability scores, or +2 to one. More like 3rd, however, you raise ability scores at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level. However, in 5th edition, your scores are capped at 20. In the theoretical world where Alek makes it all the way to 20th, the plan is to raise Wisdom by 2 at 4th and 8th, raise Strength and Dexterity by 1 at 12th, then raise Strength by 2 at 16th and 19th.
You can forego an increase to your ability scores, however, to take a feat. In the book, they are listed as an optional rule. Since the rules for Adventurer's League are mute on them, D.J. opted to allow them. This is a decision he should have made earlier, since it affects how a human character is built. Since I did not feel like rebuilding Alek, I opted not to use feats.
Sandi has chosen a Feat called Sharpshooter. It provides a rather hefty list of benefits. First, he no longer has disadvantage on ranged attack rolls at long range. Second, he ignores half cover and three quarters cover on ranged attacks. And last, but not least, he can choose to take a -5 on his attack roll in exchange for +10 to damage. While many feats also increase an ability score by +1, Sharpshooter does not.
Joseph is planning on taking a Feat for Thok at 4th level, as is Sean for Corrin. Sandi has had the Feat for a few sessions now, and it has drastically altered his play. Since he ignores cover and long range penalties, there is almost no need for him to reposition in a battle. While I can't really say whether or not this counts as broken, I can say that it changes the dynamic.
D.J. started us off by giving us a hand out with a list of the other NPCs in the wagons with us and gave us a side quest to learn about the NPCs we would be travelling with. As this will be a 60 day journey, the distraction will be welcome, and it will give us some opportunity to some role-playing and creativity.
We then met with the merchants to discuss the planned travel route: along the Coast Way through the Fields of the Dead and the Trollclaws and over the Winding Water to the ruins of Dragonspear Castle, where the Coast Way meets the Trade Way. Then we would follow the Trade Way past the Troll Hills and Trollbark and Misty Forests to Daggerford. Then, after Daggerford, up to the Dessarin River and on to Waterdeep.
While Corrin was on his way to meet back up with us, he encountered a wandering old herbalist who sold him "healing potions" for a deep discount. The seller claimed they were all natural. But whether or not the work as advertised has yet to be seen.
The first day was uneventful, but that night a group of "adventurers" wandered into camp and put on a theatrical display. This ended with Alek had Thok being fired. Thinking something was amiss, I questioned these "adventurers," and found that they were taking credit for our triumphs back at Greenest. Worse, they were not very good liars and had done no research. I took this evidence back to the merchant that hired us, Edheiri, but failed to convince her. I ended up biding my time until the "adventurers" revealed their true colors. I didn't have to wait to long.
In the mean times, Thok befriended the merchant in another wagon, a seller of wine and beer named Beyd. Thok decided to help Beyd ply his wares among the other members of the wagon train.
By day 4, we had reached the Fields of the Dead, and Sandi warned people that it wasn't safe to light fires at night.
On day 5, we came across an overturned freight wagon. The wagon was on fire and surrounded by hobgoblins. This was our big fight for the session.
At this point, those "adventurers," which turned out to be a troupe of actors, turned tail and ran. Edheiri ended up needing our services again. Ever the negotiator, Alek got his job back, with pay missed, a 20% raise, Thok's job back, and a position for Corrin. But not for Sandi (sorry, Sandi).
The hobgoblins ended up being among the first hard targets we've encountered, with the troops having ACs of 18 (using chain mail and shields), and the captain having a 17 (wearing half plate and with a bonus to AC from Dex). The Captain used an ability called Leadership that allowed its troops to add d4s to their attack rolls and saving throws. While an effective booster, it wasn't nearly as effective as Pack Tactics. My current thought on Pack Tactic, when I run a game, it to errata it to only apply to melee attacks. Aside from kobolds, most other monsters that have it only have melee attacks anyway, and I think it holds better with the spirit of the feature.
Once we had cleared the hobgoblins, it was time to end the session. Next time, we'll meet the unlucky travelers that had been hiding under that wagon.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Battle at a Bridge
When we last left our heroes, a random encounter was due to happen. In this case, it happened while Alek was getting up to use the latrine. While trekking off to to do his business, Alek discovered that the camp was surrounded by small shriekers, fungi that make loud noises when disturbed. Sandi was also roused by the squeaking of the one Alek almost stepped on. Sandi and Alek cleared a path to the latrines, and as they did, they released spores that seemed to have a psychoactive effect. Sandi, being Sandi, decided to clear out the entire field. Despite medical training, Alek was affected by the spores and will be having nightmares for a few nights. Looks like I'll need to practice brooding and writing emo poetry for a while.
The next afternoon, we found that a pair of half-ogres had set up a trap on a stone bridge over-looking the river. They demanded a toll to let us pass safely. Naturally we refused. The half-ogres threw hunks of rotted meat onto our boat, attracting the attention of some crocodiles.
At this point, Ethan entered the game with a new character: Arannis, a drow sorcerer. He was crossing the bridge, and decided to help us against the ogres. This helped make up for Corrin's absence that evening.
One of the crocs went for Sandi's horse, but we managed to stymie it and kill it before it could make a meal. Thokk managed to drop a croc in one hit with a critical. Through wise utilization of resources, in particular our ability to keep the ogres at a distance and focus fire one enemy at a time, we managed a bloodless battle, other than the nasty bite Sandi's horse sustained.
After the battle, we had a little bit of role-playing with Arannis. Alek and Thokk, being from the Silver Marches, were familiar with Drizzt Do'Urden, so they decided to give Arannis the benefit of the doubt.
That night, a noble and his companions showed up at our camp with badly abused horsed and offered a trade. The table consensus was that people who abuse animals are jerks (they are), so we turned down the trade, preferring to keep ours whole. We weren't motivated enough to try and save the abused animals, however. The remainder of the journey was uneventful.
After arriving in Baldur's Gate, we learned that animals were prohibited inside the city, so we sold ours at the southern end, had our feed ported to the north end, and bought new ones there. We also made contact with Ackyn Selbon, but not before Alek and Thokk caught a glimpse of Resmir the Black being carted through the city on a palanquin.
We had a mini-sort of skill challenge after meeting with Selbon. We each needed to provide our qualifications as caravan guards and rolled Charisma (persuasion) checks. Alek and Thokk successfully parlayed their military service to get letters of recommendation. Arannis also successfully parlayed his mystical abilities while over-coming drow racism to get a letter as well. Censura, however, failed to parlay his own mystical abilities for a letter. Sandi tried to play up his (falsely inflated) dragon-slaying abilities and also failed to obtain a letter.
With letters in hand, we showed up at the caravan grounds to get jobs. Despite not having a letter, Censura was able to display his prowess and earned a job as a guard sergeant. Alek also managed to obtain a sergeant position (appropriate, since that was his soldier rank). Thokk and Arannis both managed to obtain slightly lower paying jobs as regular guards. Sandi then did some showboating with his hail of thorns spell, but failed to get a job despite having advantage on the roll. So he'll be tagging along, hoping to get hired if any other guard dies or abandons his post.
When next we join our heroes, they'll be heading north with the caravans.
The next afternoon, we found that a pair of half-ogres had set up a trap on a stone bridge over-looking the river. They demanded a toll to let us pass safely. Naturally we refused. The half-ogres threw hunks of rotted meat onto our boat, attracting the attention of some crocodiles.
At this point, Ethan entered the game with a new character: Arannis, a drow sorcerer. He was crossing the bridge, and decided to help us against the ogres. This helped make up for Corrin's absence that evening.
One of the crocs went for Sandi's horse, but we managed to stymie it and kill it before it could make a meal. Thokk managed to drop a croc in one hit with a critical. Through wise utilization of resources, in particular our ability to keep the ogres at a distance and focus fire one enemy at a time, we managed a bloodless battle, other than the nasty bite Sandi's horse sustained.
After the battle, we had a little bit of role-playing with Arannis. Alek and Thokk, being from the Silver Marches, were familiar with Drizzt Do'Urden, so they decided to give Arannis the benefit of the doubt.
That night, a noble and his companions showed up at our camp with badly abused horsed and offered a trade. The table consensus was that people who abuse animals are jerks (they are), so we turned down the trade, preferring to keep ours whole. We weren't motivated enough to try and save the abused animals, however. The remainder of the journey was uneventful.
After arriving in Baldur's Gate, we learned that animals were prohibited inside the city, so we sold ours at the southern end, had our feed ported to the north end, and bought new ones there. We also made contact with Ackyn Selbon, but not before Alek and Thokk caught a glimpse of Resmir the Black being carted through the city on a palanquin.
We had a mini-sort of skill challenge after meeting with Selbon. We each needed to provide our qualifications as caravan guards and rolled Charisma (persuasion) checks. Alek and Thokk successfully parlayed their military service to get letters of recommendation. Arannis also successfully parlayed his mystical abilities while over-coming drow racism to get a letter as well. Censura, however, failed to parlay his own mystical abilities for a letter. Sandi tried to play up his (falsely inflated) dragon-slaying abilities and also failed to obtain a letter.
With letters in hand, we showed up at the caravan grounds to get jobs. Despite not having a letter, Censura was able to display his prowess and earned a job as a guard sergeant. Alek also managed to obtain a sergeant position (appropriate, since that was his soldier rank). Thokk and Arannis both managed to obtain slightly lower paying jobs as regular guards. Sandi then did some showboating with his hail of thorns spell, but failed to get a job despite having advantage on the roll. So he'll be tagging along, hoping to get hired if any other guard dies or abandons his post.
When next we join our heroes, they'll be heading north with the caravans.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
River Boat Blues
We began in Elturel on the river Chionthat spending time with Ontharr Frume and his cronies. Frume was waiting on a shipment, so we had a couple of days to kill. So we had another round of contest with the Order of the Gauntlet. This time around, Reese returned with Lokeo and Kelly returned with Kosef. This was something of a mixed blessing: it was more opportunities to roll and get successes in the contest, but it raised the threshold to successfully complete the round.
Among the more interesting events, Corrin, the halfling, managed to win a contest of athletics with a caber toss. Corrin's Strength is 8. Thok, using some of his background, woodchopped his way to victory. I told the story of my grandfather's triumph over the dragon along with his allies. We completed two rounds successfully before cashing in our chips. This got us 300 xp for the session.
Then we commenced to serious business. We found a root cellar to store our ill-gotten egg and met Leosin and Ontharr to get our next mission: they wanted us to intercept the cult's convoy of stolen goods in Baldur's Gate and follow it north to their final destination. They let us see a letter mentioning Aravax Foxtraveller as the Cult's contact in Baldur's Gate. (D.J. even printed up the letter for use as a cool prop). Leosin and Ontharr also gave us the name of Ackyn Selbon in the Blackgate district to help us get jobs as caravan guards to establish our cover. Being good adventurers, we accepted the mission along with a stipend to help cover expenses.
Since this journey was expected to last a month, we ended up killing the blue dragon egg, and we gave Sandi the honor.
The next day we boarded a barge called the Sullen Wench and set off down the Chionthar river for Baldur's Gate.
At this point, several people named their horses. Thok named his Ninny and Winnie, Censura named his Ethan (after Nathan's friend who sat and observed this session), and Lokeo named his Bullseye. I named mine Phobos (as in Phobos and Deimos, the consorts of Ares), but after reviewing my Tempus mythology I'm planning to rename it Deiros or Veiros, the horses of Tempus. Corrin, Sandi, and Kosef neglected to name their horses. It was probably fortunate for Corrin, anyways.
That first day, a pair of perytons attacked. Their largish (medium-sized by rules standard) birds with antlers on their head. They cast false shadows and have a nasty little trait: resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical weapons. Since we possessed precisely none of those, we had some trouble injuring the beasts.
The perytons got the drop on us, and swooped in a killed Corrin's poor nameless horse in one round. The other attacked Censura, but didn't manage to hit very hard. As we got organized, the one that attacked Censura decided to start eating Corrin's horse. The other attacked Kosef and rolled a 1 on its first attack, then a critical on its second roll. All praise the fickle RNG. Of course, we had a cleric, so I was able to I was able to get the big axe-wielding fighter back on his feet.
Even with their resistance, we managed to nearly drop one of the perytons. I fired an opening salvo at the other with guiding bolt. Thok followed up with one of his battlemaster features. He even managed to score a rather brutal critical hit. The battlemaster feature added extra damage, and half-orcs deal extra critical hit damage. But it was still up.
When the perytons' turn came up again, one was down, and the one Thokk and I had hit tried to flee. Fortunately, Sandi sniped it down over the shore. We landed and were able to recover Thok's throwing axe.
We prepared for a long rest that night, but a random encounter occurred. What dangers will our intrepid heroes face next? Join us next time. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.
Among the more interesting events, Corrin, the halfling, managed to win a contest of athletics with a caber toss. Corrin's Strength is 8. Thok, using some of his background, woodchopped his way to victory. I told the story of my grandfather's triumph over the dragon along with his allies. We completed two rounds successfully before cashing in our chips. This got us 300 xp for the session.
Then we commenced to serious business. We found a root cellar to store our ill-gotten egg and met Leosin and Ontharr to get our next mission: they wanted us to intercept the cult's convoy of stolen goods in Baldur's Gate and follow it north to their final destination. They let us see a letter mentioning Aravax Foxtraveller as the Cult's contact in Baldur's Gate. (D.J. even printed up the letter for use as a cool prop). Leosin and Ontharr also gave us the name of Ackyn Selbon in the Blackgate district to help us get jobs as caravan guards to establish our cover. Being good adventurers, we accepted the mission along with a stipend to help cover expenses.
Since this journey was expected to last a month, we ended up killing the blue dragon egg, and we gave Sandi the honor.
The next day we boarded a barge called the Sullen Wench and set off down the Chionthar river for Baldur's Gate.
At this point, several people named their horses. Thok named his Ninny and Winnie, Censura named his Ethan (after Nathan's friend who sat and observed this session), and Lokeo named his Bullseye. I named mine Phobos (as in Phobos and Deimos, the consorts of Ares), but after reviewing my Tempus mythology I'm planning to rename it Deiros or Veiros, the horses of Tempus. Corrin, Sandi, and Kosef neglected to name their horses. It was probably fortunate for Corrin, anyways.
That first day, a pair of perytons attacked. Their largish (medium-sized by rules standard) birds with antlers on their head. They cast false shadows and have a nasty little trait: resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical weapons. Since we possessed precisely none of those, we had some trouble injuring the beasts.
The perytons got the drop on us, and swooped in a killed Corrin's poor nameless horse in one round. The other attacked Censura, but didn't manage to hit very hard. As we got organized, the one that attacked Censura decided to start eating Corrin's horse. The other attacked Kosef and rolled a 1 on its first attack, then a critical on its second roll. All praise the fickle RNG. Of course, we had a cleric, so I was able to I was able to get the big axe-wielding fighter back on his feet.
Even with their resistance, we managed to nearly drop one of the perytons. I fired an opening salvo at the other with guiding bolt. Thok followed up with one of his battlemaster features. He even managed to score a rather brutal critical hit. The battlemaster feature added extra damage, and half-orcs deal extra critical hit damage. But it was still up.
When the perytons' turn came up again, one was down, and the one Thokk and I had hit tried to flee. Fortunately, Sandi sniped it down over the shore. We landed and were able to recover Thok's throwing axe.
We prepared for a long rest that night, but a random encounter occurred. What dangers will our intrepid heroes face next? Join us next time. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Back From the Holidays
I took a long break over the holidays. We played an extra long session since the store was open late for New Years Eve gaming.
Sean's wife, Stephanie, joined us for this session, bringing in a dwarf barbarian named Boa. One the proficiencies she ended up taking was brewers' supplies. So we had fun with alcohol that night. Otherwise, I changed up my prepared spells after our long rest. I dropped command, since Censura was already making good use of it, and enhance attribute, since I didn't seem to be getting much mileage out of it. I added hold person and lesser restoration.
There was one last passage to explore, so we traveled down it. Piercers, monsterized stalactites, dropped down on us. Not too concerned about them, Corrin pressed on and narrowly avoided being ambushed by an ambush drake. Then some kobolds popped up out of hiding. Then, Frulam and her remaining cultists came in from behind.
This was a tough fight.
Fortunately, Censura proved why area of effect spells are awesome, using burning hands to drop three of the four kobolds, but not before they glued some of us in place with glue bombs and dropped some fire bombs in our midst. I was stuck for most of the fight in the glue-my dice were betraying me throughout most of the night.
Mondath later further pinned me with her own hold person, and again, my dice betrayed me. Fortunately, hold person requires concentration, and she later switched to another concentration spell.
In the end, the combination of melee pressure from Thok and Boa, clever play by Corrin and Censura, and Sandi doing what he does best (shooting things), we cleared everyone but Mondath (and those pesky piercers) quickly. However, this time she managed to pull off her nasty spell: the one that slowed everyone within fifteen feet of her. It also does damage, a fair bit, to creatures that start their turn in the area. This particular spell is spirit guardians, and is a 3rd level cleric spell, and I can't wait to get it (provided we reach that level before the season changes over in March).
By the time I managed to break free of the glue, the party was down to myself and Censura, and Mondath had put a command on Censura keeping him out of the fight for the round. Finally, the dice turned around, I scored a critical hit on Mondath with guiding bolt, dropping her. We mopped up the piercers and got everyone stabilized or conscious.
That last cave ended up being the dragon hatchery we were looking for. We killed some black dragon eggs, but took the blue dragon egg to use as blackmail against the blue dragon we had fought earlier.
Actually, D.J. left out one of the more interesting facets of this encounter: a roper down among the eggs. The creature was actually meant to be dealt with via role-playing in the published adventure. The assumed solution was offering it the meat in the larder.
About this time we took a break. The people of the Isle got pizza for people playing there New Years Eve. Did I mention those guys are AWESOME! Also, D.J. allowed Joseph to level up Thok, since we were playing a long session and completed an episode.
We returned to town, and Governor Nighthill let us know that Leosin had moved on to Elturel. We received horses, purchased supplies, including a cart to haul our ill-gotten egg, and set out. My character also managed to use one of his skills: Intelligence (history), to learn about Naerytar. Apparently it might be a castle further north that might even fly.
We met some robbers on the road, but we managed to quickly kill or disperse them. After the rather intense first combat, this was a nice change of pace. We stopped over in Berdusk and Scornubel and purchased additional supplies. I even managed to upgrade my armor to splint mail. Corrin finally got poison that he had been looking for.
We finally reached Elturel and made contact with Leosin Erlanthar's contact, Othar Frume. He and his paladin allies of the Order of the Gauntlet challenged us to an impromptu contest of storytelling, athletics, or drinking. D.J. ran it a bit like skill challenge. We went around the table and took turns trying to drink others under the table, telling tales of heroics, and performing athletic feats. Ultimately, we weren't able to impress the audience for extra experience, but we're ready to start the next leg of our journey.
Sean's wife, Stephanie, joined us for this session, bringing in a dwarf barbarian named Boa. One the proficiencies she ended up taking was brewers' supplies. So we had fun with alcohol that night. Otherwise, I changed up my prepared spells after our long rest. I dropped command, since Censura was already making good use of it, and enhance attribute, since I didn't seem to be getting much mileage out of it. I added hold person and lesser restoration.
There was one last passage to explore, so we traveled down it. Piercers, monsterized stalactites, dropped down on us. Not too concerned about them, Corrin pressed on and narrowly avoided being ambushed by an ambush drake. Then some kobolds popped up out of hiding. Then, Frulam and her remaining cultists came in from behind.
This was a tough fight.
Fortunately, Censura proved why area of effect spells are awesome, using burning hands to drop three of the four kobolds, but not before they glued some of us in place with glue bombs and dropped some fire bombs in our midst. I was stuck for most of the fight in the glue-my dice were betraying me throughout most of the night.
Mondath later further pinned me with her own hold person, and again, my dice betrayed me. Fortunately, hold person requires concentration, and she later switched to another concentration spell.
In the end, the combination of melee pressure from Thok and Boa, clever play by Corrin and Censura, and Sandi doing what he does best (shooting things), we cleared everyone but Mondath (and those pesky piercers) quickly. However, this time she managed to pull off her nasty spell: the one that slowed everyone within fifteen feet of her. It also does damage, a fair bit, to creatures that start their turn in the area. This particular spell is spirit guardians, and is a 3rd level cleric spell, and I can't wait to get it (provided we reach that level before the season changes over in March).
By the time I managed to break free of the glue, the party was down to myself and Censura, and Mondath had put a command on Censura keeping him out of the fight for the round. Finally, the dice turned around, I scored a critical hit on Mondath with guiding bolt, dropping her. We mopped up the piercers and got everyone stabilized or conscious.
That last cave ended up being the dragon hatchery we were looking for. We killed some black dragon eggs, but took the blue dragon egg to use as blackmail against the blue dragon we had fought earlier.
Actually, D.J. left out one of the more interesting facets of this encounter: a roper down among the eggs. The creature was actually meant to be dealt with via role-playing in the published adventure. The assumed solution was offering it the meat in the larder.
About this time we took a break. The people of the Isle got pizza for people playing there New Years Eve. Did I mention those guys are AWESOME! Also, D.J. allowed Joseph to level up Thok, since we were playing a long session and completed an episode.
We returned to town, and Governor Nighthill let us know that Leosin had moved on to Elturel. We received horses, purchased supplies, including a cart to haul our ill-gotten egg, and set out. My character also managed to use one of his skills: Intelligence (history), to learn about Naerytar. Apparently it might be a castle further north that might even fly.
We met some robbers on the road, but we managed to quickly kill or disperse them. After the rather intense first combat, this was a nice change of pace. We stopped over in Berdusk and Scornubel and purchased additional supplies. I even managed to upgrade my armor to splint mail. Corrin finally got poison that he had been looking for.
We finally reached Elturel and made contact with Leosin Erlanthar's contact, Othar Frume. He and his paladin allies of the Order of the Gauntlet challenged us to an impromptu contest of storytelling, athletics, or drinking. D.J. ran it a bit like skill challenge. We went around the table and took turns trying to drink others under the table, telling tales of heroics, and performing athletic feats. Ultimately, we weren't able to impress the audience for extra experience, but we're ready to start the next leg of our journey.
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